


Lost and Found

by JollyProbiotics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A bit of swearing, Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, Apocalypse, Everyone is angry, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Help, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Hunk sees all, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Lance (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Lance (Voltron) is a Dork, Lance is a flirt, Like, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Pidge hates it, Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Trigger Warnings, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, allura is pregnant too?, could probably be rated teen but im making it mature just in case, dont read this kids, i just lost all my tags fuck, i made allura a bitch because i dont like her very much, its really self indulgent, kinda a bit of death maybe??, kinda self indulgent, pidge hates everyone except bae bae, pidge is a badass, pidge swears everytime she speaks, plance, please, shay is a little bit pregnant, thats a lie., thats also a lie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2020-10-19 16:46:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20660459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JollyProbiotics/pseuds/JollyProbiotics
Summary: For six years, her life had been nothing but bland and boring. Shrouded in darkness. Until she stumbled upon a stupid, tall boy in the woods. Then it got a little bit brighter.Or,Pidge hates everybody because the apocalypse happened and she's trying to stay alive but then Lance shows up and fucks with all her plans and stuff.





	1. Happy Birthday To Me...

_ Gunshots sounded in her ears.  _

_ Slicing of metal through flesh and bone pierced her mind.  _

_ Screams rang through her head. _

At least they did. Not anymore. They hadn’t for a while.

Now, she skipped down the road, swinging her arms along, humming a quiet tune. She hadn’t seen a person in a year. It made her wonder if she was the last person around. 

She knew the way to her new house off by memory at this point. She had been travelling there and back everyday for years, and had no problem with the little… problems that came around. She walked through the woods, deciding to take a break from her usual pathway through the streets. She hadn’t walked through the woods in about three years, and decided it was time for change. If she ran into any biters, they wouldn’t affect her anyway. Nothing ever could.

She walked along, gun in hand. She itched at the scar on her right side. Her head was on a swivel, and she was watching for anything that could harm her. She looked through the thick trees and down at the blanket of leaves and pine needles that layered the floor. She looked up at the blue sky, mostly covered by the tree branches and leaves, and failed to see the only prominent threat right in front of her.

As if she were in a cartoon, she stepped forwards and a rope closed around her ankle, dragging her upwards and causing her to dangle from the tree. She tried to reach for her knife, but it fell from her boot and to the forest floor beneath her. 

_ Shit. Just my luck too.  _ She dangled helplessly for a moment, thinking through her options.

She contemplated shooting through the rope with her handgun, but decided against it for fear of attracting unwanted attention. She dangled there, feeling the blood rush to her face, and feared that she would pass out. She stretched her arms beneath her in a last attempt to reach her knife. Her fingers grazed the edge of the blade, but she was unable to grasp it. She silently cursed her small stature.

_ Snap! _

She was incapable of spinning herself around to point her gun at the source of the noise, but she wished with all of her might that it would just-

“Lookie what we got here, Hunk!” a loud male’s voice whooped. It was clearly an arrogant young man, just form the sound of his voice alone.

“Damn. It’s a kid. The poor thing,” another voice added in. The owner of one of the voices spun her around and she came face to face with tanned boy. Or, more like face to chest. The rope creaked with age.

“I’m willing to bet I’m older than you.” She crossed her arms as best as she could while hanging upside down. The tanned boy shrieked in fear and held up a hunting rifle, aimed right to her face. Getting a better look at the boy's face, and stature, she could tell that she was, in act, wrong with her statement. She was younger.

“Okay, one, get that fucking thing out of my face. I’m not dead. And two, I never thought, in the six years I've lived in this fucking hellhole, that I would find someone dumb enough to walk around shirtless. Two people, at that.” She poked the tan boy in the stomach, causing him to stumble backwards slightly.

“Who the hell are you? We thought our group was the only one left,” the other boy added. He was smart enough to at least wear a vest

“For all I know it could be. I’m on my own,” she said. “Can you cut me down? I’d rather not be stuck out here after dark. If you couldn’t tell, my glasses are already broken and the dark makes it fucking hard to see. Now let me down!” she cried out swinging her hands towards the knife on the ground.

_ I’m stuck, upside down, about to pass out, with two shirtless idiots. And I have no clue who they are and I need fucking help! _

“Calm down, babe. We’ll get you down. Stop wiggling or it won’t work and I’ll end up chopping off your foot instead,” the tan boy said.

“Don’t call me babe,  _ babe. _ You don’t know me, and I won’t hesitate to chop off both of your heads and feed your remnants to the biters that hang out around my house,” she snapped. The tanned boy cut the rope and she fell to the ground, square on her back. She jumped to her feet, grabbed her knife from under her back and stuffed it back in her boot.

She stood up, turned to the two boys and sighed, keeping her stern glare.

“Thanks. I guess. You’re still a couple of shirtless idiots, though. Have fun with your group.” She turned on her heel and started walking away from the boys.

“Wait!” the lanky boy called. “What’s your name?”

“If I tell you, I’ll get attached. If I get attached, it’ll be that much harder to line up shots with your heads and squeeze the trigger. Bye now.” She hadn’t turned around to explain herself, only slowed her pace significantly.

“Oh my god,” the boy in the vest muttered. “She’s infected.”

She froze. She turned around finally, and stared at the vested boy with wide eyes.

“No. I’m not.” And she ran through the woods the rest of the way to her house, careful not to step in anymore childish traps.

* * *

“Happy birthday to… me,” she muttered under her breath. Her house was dark except for the kerosene lamp and a candle stuck in the spoonful of peanut butter. She took a shaky breath and continued the short rhyme. “Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear Pidge.” Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she moved her fingers under her cracked glasses to wipe them away. “Happy birthday to…” her voice cracked as she uttered the last word. “Me.”

She rested her head on her forearms and finally let the tears flow. She had been holding them back for days, and finally gave in to her emotions. She blew out the candle through her salty lips and and removed the small thing, stuffing the spoon of peanut butter in her mouth.

“Happy goddamn birthday Katie Holt,” she cried through a full mouth of sticky peanut butter.   
  


Bae Bae buried her face in her owners lap, whining slightly. She tried to calm Pidge down, but wasn’t succeeding. Pidge scratched her dogs head, trying to silence her. She gave the leftovers of her peanut butter to the dog, and Bae Bae, content with her dinner, took the spoon and laid down on her bed.

Pidge decided now was as good a time as any to go to bed, so she wiped her eyes and barricaded her doors and windows. After double checking everything was sealed shut, she threw off her tank top and flopped onto her bed, not caring to remove her jeans. 

Pidge’s dog curled up in the bed next to her, and she shut her eyes, rubbing the tip of her tongue against the metal bar on the back of her teeth. It was the one thing that kept her grounded to the real world. The one thing that reminded her that the world wasn’t always like this. That she wasn’t born into hell, and that there was always a possibility of the world going back to the way it was.

But the chance of that was so small, she found it silly to hope.

* * *

“I’m telling you, there was something up with her,” Hunk explained to his Cuban friend.

“You think there is something up with everyone that gives you the cold shoulder, big guy.” Lance shrugged. He slung his rifle over his back and followed his large friend. Hunk had insisted that they follow the girl, and find out if she was telling the truth about being alone. Who in their right mind would be alone in this world? 

Lance went along with it, mainly because he wanted to keep his friend safe, and he thought the girl was good looking.

They stood outside of the house that the girl had entered, and watched as the light inside went out.

“You know what,” Hunk started, “Maybe this isn’t a good idea. It looks like she’s gone to bed now. Her threats are getting to me. Let’s go back. Shiro will get worried.”

“Hunk, buddy. Come on. She wasn’t telling the truth. She’s like, what, half your size? There’s no way she could fight us.” Lance patted his friend on the shoulder and led him up the steps to the front door.

* * *

Pidge raised herself from her bed when she heard knocking on her front door. She had had to deal with biters in the middle of the night previously, and had figured out that it really wasn’t a huge deal, but the knocking and snarls caused Bae Bae to whine and bark and it kept her up all night.

She grabbed the knife that she kept on her bedside table, and unblocked her front door. She raised her knife as she opened the door. Instead of biters like she had expected, there was the two boys she had met in the woods.

She groaned and tried to shut the door, but it was blocked by the tan boy’s hand. Bae Bae came through her bedroom door and barked at the boys. Pidge tried to silence her dog, because the snarls and growls of biters came from behind the boys. The larger boy noticed the creatures as well, and tried to help her calm down the dog.

“Get in and shut the door,” she hissed. They stepped over the small wooden plank used to keep Bae Bae in the house, and the tan boy closed the door behind him. Then, as if he owned the place he decided to wander around.

Pidge struggled to contain her dog, and keep her voice low as she told him off for searching through her house.

“Get your ass back here,” she whisper yelled. She had placed Bae Bae in a room in the back of her house, and chased the tan boy into her room.

“Damn. You’re tiny,” he chuckled, holding up her shirt. Pidge remembered that she didn’t have a shirt on anymore, and she snatched it from his hands, throwing it over her head in one swift motion.

“Is it someone’s birthday?” the vested boy called from her dining room. She pushed the Cuban boy out of her room.

“Hands on me already?” he snickered. “You don’t even know my name yet.” 

“You’re disgusting. And it’s no one’s birthday. Leave me alone and get back to your group.” She steered the two boys towards the front door, and pointed at it. “Unless you want to be fertilizer for my garden.”

“Harsh, babe. My name’s Lance. This guy is Hunk. Now that you know us, you gotta be nice,” said the tall Cuban boy. 

“In what world, do I have to be nice to you? The old one? ‘Cause it’s too late for that. Have a nice day. Or don’t. I don’t care. Out.” She swung open her door, and saw a crowd of biters. The boys must have attracted them. "I changed my mind. Get the fuck out."

“Oh, damn,” Hunk muttered. “Did we do that?”

“Everything was fine until you showed up, so I assume so.” She pulled a gun from the backpack she kept next to her door, and the knife from her boot.  “Shut up, stay here, keep Bae Bae calm, and don’t rifle through my shit.” Pidge opened the door, and stepped over the wooden blockage. The first creature shambled toward her, and she stabbed it through the head, stuffing her hand gun in the back of her pants. She would only use that in an emergency.

The next one was a bit larger than the first. He looked like he was a bodybuilder in his first life. She realized he was a runner, and he charged towards her at full speed. The larger biters usually were. 

Pidge slid between his legs and climbed up on his back, stabbing him multiple times in the head, rolling backwards as he fell. The issue was that she rolled into another. It snarled and snapped at her neck. She narrowly avoided being bitten, by crouching and climbing through its legs. One of them grabbed her legs and she involuntarily screamed. That just called more biters to the commotion. 

As she kicked at the nasty holding her foot, and decided now was a good time to pull out her gun. Unfortunately, before she could grab it, something grabbed her by the wrists, and she was pulled into the grasp of something tall and warm. It was the lanky boy that had shown up at her house, Lance. He pulled her back into the small building while Hunk stabbed at the biters.

“We’re leaving.” She grabbed her backpack and ran to her room and cabinets to grab her belongings. Pidge grabbed her clothes, the small amount of food she had in her cupboard and her dog food. She pulled her kerosene lamp off the gas tank and carefully placed it on the front of her bag. She handed the propane tank to Hunk and a bag of dog food to Lance.

Pidge led the two boys to a ladder that she pulled from the roof. She had to jump pretty high to grab the string, but once she got it, she ushered the boys up and told them to wait. She threw her bag up and called Bae Bae, preparing to help her up the ladder.

Runners were pounding against the door, trying to break the small barrier one the bottom. She realized that the door hadn’t been closed.

“Fuck,” she yelled. She picked up her dog. It was the same size as her, so Pidge had a hard time carrying her up the ladder. A runner raced towards her and she kicked him down, having to throw her dog into Lance’s outstretched arms.

“I’m going to draw them away. There’s a hatch in the ceiling. Climb out of it, and meet me at the flagpole near the convenience store. If I’m not there in ten minutes, take care of Bae Bae.” Pidge stabbed the runner and ran through the house, calling out random things as she drew them away. She grabbed a pan and wooden spoon and started banging them together.

“POKEMON; GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!” she screamed. All the dead heads turned to look at her.

She ran away, and they followed her. Unfortunately, she tripped over half a biter, and they all started falling on top of her.

_ Okay, last resort. _ She pulled the gun from her pants and shot away at them, trying to wiggle out of their grasp. A sharp pain on her stomach made her shriek.

The scar on her stomach tore open. She cussed as she ran, applying pressure to the bleeding spot.

“I’m here,” she whispered, as she found the two boys and her dog. She grabbed a sweater from her bag and pulled it over her torso before the blood could seep through her shirt sufficiently. “We need to find somewhere for the night-”

She collapsed on the ground, passed out from exhaustion, lack of food, as well as the pain.


	2. Don't come in, Lance.

Pidge woke up in a small, dimly lit, white room. Lance sat in a chair next to her, fast asleep. She chuckled to herself, admitting that he was slightly cute, when not being a cocky asshole. She stood off the floor and threw the blanket over top of him.

She exited the room, and found herself in a multi story building. She was on the bottom floor. Deciding to leave, she wrote a short note, took her bag and dog, and left the building.   


Lance woke up to an empty room. He wondered how the blanket had gotten onto him, before realizing he was alone and spotting the note on the ground where the girl was.

_ “Thanks for the stuff. _

_ -Pidge” _

“Motherfucker!” he hollered.

“What’s wrong?” Shiro and Allura - basically the leaders of the group - emerged from their room down the hall, and entered the room Lance was in.

“That kid took our shit,” Lance explained angrily.

“Dammit,” Shiro cussed. “What did she take?”

“I don’t know, but she left a note saying ‘thanks for the stuff.’ We were fucking conned!”

“What the hell is going on in here!?” Keith barged into the room, Hunk in tow with his girlfriend, Shay. Their doctor, Coran, came in not long after.

“What’s all the ruckus? I was having a pleasant dream,” he grumbled.

“That girl, the kid Hunk and I brought in last night, she left, and took our shit!” Lance exclaimed. He threw his arms into the air in frustration.

“Why the fuck did you bring her into the actual building?” Shiro asked.

“We thought we were doing something good,” Hunk sighed.

“She can’t have gotten far. Lance, go after her,” Shiro demanded. 

Lance sighed and grabbed his rifle, before trudging out of the apartment building. He grumpily walked his way down the road, looking out for any sign of the small woman. Pidge, judging by what the note said. 

_What kind of name is that anyway?_

Pidge marched along with her dog at her side, walking along at a leisurely pace, though keeping an eye out for either Lance or Hunk, or any of the group members they had mentioned. She also looked out for anyone that might try to harm her or Bae Bae.

“Puppy!”

Pidge looked to her left and saw a little boy running towards her. He looked about seven years old.

“Nadia! Come see the puppy!” he called.

“Mama, can I go see it?” a small girls voice came from a house next to her.

A woman coughed loudly, then sighed. “Sylvio, make sure there’s no one around first, and make sure its not a biter.” Her voice was hoarse. Pidge could tell she had been bitten, and was slowly turning, passing through the fever phase.

“There’s a nice looking lady with the dog! She’s not a monster, Mama!” the young boy crouched down and started petting Bae Bae.

“Her name is Bae Bae. And my name is Pidge. Who are you?” Pidge crouched to his level and smiled kindly.

“Sylvio,  _ mijo _ , bring her here,” the woman called out with a scratchy voice. Sylvio grabbed Pidge by the wrist and she whistled for Bae Bae to follow her. She walked into the house with the young boy into the rundown building. 

“My Mama’s a bit sick,” Sylvio whispered. 

“Sylvio, Nadia, go play with the puppy in another room.” She looked at Pidge with pleading blue eyes. She was in a small bed and the thin blanket was doing nothing to stop her shivering. 

“I’m bit, please, take my babies. I can’t let them see me turn. Please.” She had grabbed Pidge’s sleeve to stop her walking away.

“Of course. Nadia and Sylvio, yes?”

“_Si_. Take care of them. Please. Nadia, Sylvio, _mis __bebés._ This nice lady is going to take care of you now, please be kind to her.” The woman let a few silent tears run down her cheeks. Even Pidge felt the pressure behind her eyes.

“Why, Mama?” Nadia asked.

“Because I’m too sick. I’m sorry baby. I’ll see you one day.”

“Come on, kiddo’s, let’s go. Follow the puppy,” Pidge said quietly, trying not to cry.

They walked for some time, before finding a house and taking up residence, at least for the night.

She put the two children in a room upstairs, and locked the door. She said she had to go and find food, and to not leave the room until Pidge knocked on the door. They were not to unlock the door under any other circumstances. The children nodded in understanding.

She walked for a while, and looked around for anything she could give to and feed the children.

She was tackled to the ground by a large force.

“Give us back our stuff,” Lance snapped, straddling her waist and holding her wrists to the ground. Pidge looked him up and down, and smirked.

“Can’t, sorry.” She tried to push him up, but only managed to roll over with him, falling on top of him. He still gripped her upper arm, and scowled at her. 

"What do you mean, you can't?" he spat. 

"I can't, because I never took anything. I just left that note to fuck with your head." She tried to stand up, but couldn't release herself from Lance's grip. 

"Could you let go? I've got two kids and a dog I need to feed, and right now, I don't have anything to give them, thanks to you attracting all the stalkers, runners and lurkers into my house last night."

Lance looked at her in confusion before letting go of her arm. 

"Two kids? When did you have two kids?" he asked, bewildered. 

"They're not mine. I found them. Their mother was bitten. She asked me to take them." She sighed. "Look. I think we'd all be better off if either you left us alone, or took the kids yourself."

Lance almost shook his head, then decided to follow her to the children. 

"Nadia! Sylvio! I have someone here to meet you!" Pidge hollered through the building. 

Only snarls came down the steps, and the children screamed. 

_ Nadia? Sylvio? _

"Oh fuck. Hold on kids I'm coming!" Pidge bolted up the stairs. Two gunshots rang out and a loud thud hit the ground as Lance ran up the stairs, two at a time. 

Lance burst through the open door and saw Pidge stabbing a rotter through the head. Nadia sat on the floor, crying, and holding her arms close to her body. Pidge dropped down in front of her, looking over Nadia for any scratches or bites.

“ _ Tio _ Lance!” Sylvio screamed. He threw himself into Lance’s arms and the two hugged each other tightly. Lance smiled wide at his nephew. He didn't think he would see these kids again. Sylvio had to be about nine now, meaning Nadia was about seven, and wouldn't recognize him.

“Pidge! It tried to hurt me!” Nadia cried. Her wails rang through the room, attracting the rotters into the house. Lance realized he didn’t close the door. Again.

“Fuck!” Pidge hollered. Five rotters came into the room and Pidge tried to block the door, keeping the kids safe. She was taken down in a dog pile of them.

“I’ve got them,” she yelled, stabbing them all. “Take the kids back to your camp.”

“I won’t leave you!” Lance yelled over the snarls.

“Fucking go!”

Lance scooped up the children in his arms and ran out of the room. He felt bad for leaving the woman that saved his family, but knew that the children needed to be is top priority.

“I’ll come back for you!” he yelled behind him, bolting down the stairs and rushing to his building.

“Hunk! Coran! Help!” Lance burst through the door and sat Sylvio down, carrying Nadia to the medical room. She wasn't bleeding, but she needed to be looked over just in case.

“What happened?” Coran asked, quickly preparing the bed for him to lay Nadia on.

“The girl, she found them. Nadia was almost bitten when I distracted Pidge. Nadia and Sylvio are my sisters kids. I guess she’s dead now. Pidge said she was bitten. I guess I can’t have everyone alive though. But I need you make sure Nadia's okay.” Lance sighed and sat down, looking sadly towards Nadia.

“Pidge!” He jumped up and ran through the door, racing back to the building he had left the young woman in.

He heard light whimpering, but no rotter snarls. He cautiously walked up the stairs, alerting Pidge of his presence.

“Pidge?” he said quietly. “Are you okay?”

“Don’t come in, Lance,” she said, slamming the slightly ajar door.

Lance was startled. He grabbed the door handle and pressed his ear against it, listening for any sounds that could tip off the need to go in guns blazing.

“Why? Pidge, what happened?” he asked through the door.

“Nothing.” The door swung open. Lance stumbled forwards. “Just had to change my shirt,” she smiled. “It was covered in biter goo. Nasty.”

Lance noticed how she conspicuously held her left arm behind her back.

“Give me your arm.” Lance stuck out his hand. He leaned in towards her, close enough to feel wisps of her breath on his face.

“No,” Pidge said defensively. She scowled at him, furrowing her brows. “In fact, why did you come back? I didn’t need your help. You can see that.” She gestured with her exposed hand to the pile of rotters.

“Pidge,” Lance stared at her darkly. She saw what was coming before Lance acted, and raced towards the window. She’d go back for her bag later. Unfortunately, Lance was quicker than her, and grabbed her left arm. She winced in pain when his fingers closed around her hasty bandaging job. Lance pulled her back into the room and she fell backwards onto the floor, albeit rougher than he intended.

“You were bitten!” Lance cried. He held his gun up and pressed the barrel to the center of her forehead.


	3. Keep it in your pants, Loverboy

“Whoa! Put that down! I’m fine!”

“You’ve been bitten! I can’t let you come with me, and I won’t leave you to turn,” Lance said.

“I won’t turn! Just leave! Go back to your group, live your life away from me,” she said, turning away. She crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. “I didn’t want to come with you anyway! I- Just fucking leave!”

Lance stuck the barrel of his rifle between her shoulder blades.

“What do you mean, you won’t turn?” he asked quietly. Pidge spun around, pushing the rifle away.

“Because I’ve been bitten before,” she said, so quiet that Lance barely caught it.

“You- what?”

“God, you are dense.” She lifted the right side of her shirt and revealed a large scar, taking up most of her side.

“Oh fuck.” Lance’s eyebrows went up.

“So. Are you going to shoot me, or not?” she asked snarkily. “‘Cause I'd like to leave if not."

"You– how?" Lance stared at her, wide eyed. He set his gun down. 

Pidge sighed. She sat on the bed. 

"When I was fourteen, I was emancipated. I hated my parents. They never paid any attention to important things.

"Eventually, they decided they needed a test subject. They gave me a call and, knowing I needed the money, offered a lot as long as I said yes."

She laid back on the mattress. "When I looked around the laboratory, I saw people. But, they weren't really people. They were, off. And they were in solid glass containers. They were attacking the glass and throwing themselves at it and A closer look revealed that they were in the early stages of turning."

Lance cocked his head to the side, looking at her with fierce concern. 

"I was laid down on a medical bed. Hooked up to a bunch of machines to monitor my vitals. The works. Knocked out and injected with some weird substance."

"The virus," Lance breathed. Pidge nodded before continuing. 

"When I woke up, I was in one of the glass containers. But I didn't look like the ones I had seen when entering. I was normal. Not attacking the glass. When I stood, and looked around, all the lab workers cheered. 

"While I was in the hospital bed, they explained what it was all for. They were trying to find a way to make people 'super human.' It affected people in the wrong way, ultimately causing the apocalypse. They altered the formula every time it didn't work. Lucky for me, it did. 

"I was released after a week with a big, fat paycheck. Not long after, the virus broke out. I'm sure you can figure it our from there." She sat back up and looked at Lance, a look of anger across her features. Lance jumped up, not realizing he had sat down. 

"Your parents experimented on you?! What the fuck? No wonder you moved out," he said angrily. 

"Well, now you know. I'm infected, and incapable of turning." She laughed humorlessly. 

Lance's eyes widened once more, and he hollered "You're basically the cure!"

"I'm not a cure. I'm one of them." Pidge pointed to the rotters on the ground. "I'm just not at that stage yet. It's… delayed."

Before Lance could question any further, the unmistakable revving of an engine caught their attention. 

"Aw fuck. They're back again."

"Who's back?" Lance asked frantically, scared by Pidge's expression. It was a mix of anger and fear. 

She silently beckoned him to follow her into the closet. It was tight, belonging to a child, so they were pressed close. Lance had to duck so as not to hit his head on the shelf. 

"Come out, come out, I know you're here," a voice called out to them. "I heard you."

"How do you know she didn't leave?" another voice said through the door. 

"Because–" the door was kicked open "–who would just leave such a nice rifle?"

Lance inhaled, and Pidge slapped a hand over his mouth. 

"Stay," she mouthed. She drew her pistol and stepped out of the closet with it raised high. 

"Well, look at this. We've got a pretty girl here," the first voice said. 

The sound of a gun cocking filled the room, and the man's voice fell silent. 

"Leave. Walk away and you won't be hurt."

“Oh, Kitty’s feisty,” said that same voice. “Say, sunshine, who were you talking to? I’d hate to have to shoot you to find out.”

Pidge scoffed. “Like I’d spend time with anyone. They’d’ve turned out like you. Just another asshole.”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be making insults, princess,” a new voice said.

“Now now, Carlisle, we don’t want to scare our pretty girl away.”

“I’m the one with the gun asshole,” Pidge spoke up. Lance prayed that she would just shut up at some point. To not get the both of them killed in an act of defiance.

“Oh dear, our Princess seems to have a mind of her ow-” a gunshot rang out, cutting off the third man. 

“You little bitch! You shot him!”

“I’ll do the same to you if you don’t get the fuck out!” she snapped. Another gun cocked. Lance couldn’t stop himself. He peeked through the crack in the closet.

“Is that someone in the closet?” asked a man taller than him, he held a .22 rifle. A man with a beard moved closer to Pidge while she was distracted, placing the barrel of a shotgun to her forehead. The first man slowly stalked forwards and Lance threw himself backwards, making a loud thud, clearly dissipating any notion that he  _ wasn’t _ there.

What sounded like a battle cry rang out from Pidge, and the man in front of her screamed. Lance burst from the closet and grabbed the barrel of the rifle, turning it away from himself. Another shot, causing vibrations to shoot through Lance’s entire body, hit the wall.

Pidge essentially roundhouse kicked the guy holding a gun to her face. Lance cried out in shock as the vibrations of the shot reverberated through his body. When the three men were face down on the ground, one unconscious, leaving one dead and one with Lance’s gun aimed at the back of his head, Pidge lifted her bag and threw a small object at Lance in an attempt to get away from him. Being distracted by the three men had caused Lance to forget that the two young adults were not, in fact, friends. She grabbed her overstuffed backpack and scampered out of the window, climbing down the lattice to the ground. 

“Motherfucker,” Lance sighed. He dropped the butt of his gun on the man’s head, effectively knocking him out, before running out of the building.

Lance once again chased the young woman. Upon catching up to her, Lance grabbed the loop of her backpack and stopped her from running. She fell backwards into him and he wrapped his arm around her.

“How the fuck do you run so fast?” she asked, gasping for air.

“Track team?”

“Makes sense, I never did sports.” Pidge tried to wiggle out of his arms, but failed. She eventually just fell limp and gave in. “Why won’t you let me go?”

“I mean, you’re like, twelve. You’re on your own, and we have a doctor that would be thrilled to know there’s some kind of fix-it, to the virus,” Lance explained.

Pidge chuckled dryly. “I’m not twelve.”

“Right. Thirteen. Anyway, you’re gonna come back to my camp. Besides, Shiro is pissed and wants to give you a piece of his mind.”

Pidge sighed and let her arms flop to the side. 

“No. You can’t tell your group. They’ll think I'm crazy or try to kill me. Or both.”

“The kids would love to see you again,” Lance pleaded. “You’re on your own, it’s not safe.”

Pidge sighed and rolled over. Lance let her go this time. She sat on the ground and crossed her legs, resting her arms on her legs and hanging her head. 

“I’ll come with you. Only because you’re right. It’s not safe. Those guys will probably come back and look for us.” 

She stood up and put a hand out for Lance to take. He pulled himself up with her hand. He smiled down at her. The two walked in silence for a while. Pidge constantly looked at her arm. The bandage was soaked in blood. Lance noticed. He pulled his sweater off and handed it to her in a ball.

“Our doctor is gonna notice the blood. He’ll be curious about it.”

Pidge looked at him, but eventually grabbed the blue ball of fabric. She pulled it over her head. The hoodie was gigantic on her, and the sleeves fell to her knees, the actual sweater part of it going to the middle of her thighs.

Lance coughed into his shoulder. Pidge smirked at him.

“Keep it in your pants, lover boy.”


	4. A complete wreck with tears

“Is this the little shit that stole our stuff?”

A young man had Pidge pinned to the wall the second Lance brought her in.

“Where is it?” he snapped.

“Keith! Back off! She never took anything. She just left the note to fuck with our heads. Let her go!” Lance yelled back. He pushed Keith off and stepped in front of her, acting as a shield.

“She took our stuff?” Another woman entered the room from a side door and slapped Pidge across the face. She stumbled backwards and Lance had to stop her from falling. She quickly brushed Lance off and turned back to the woman, ready to throw a punch at her. Pidge’s fist was raised but the clicking of a gun behind her head caused her to hesitate.

“Everyone calm the fuck down!” Lance screamed. 

Pidge spun around and grabbed the gun, wrenching it out of the person's hand. It was risky, sure, but she couldn’t have that threat present. She could handle the occasional slap to the face, but a deadly weapon? No thanks.

She pointed it back at the woman and reached into the back of her pants for the one she owned, swinging it at the other two people. Lance placed his hand on Pidge’s shoulder gently, and reached for one of the guns in her hand.

“Everyone, stop. This is Pidge. She never took anything, just a sick joke gone wrong. She’s saved my life at least twice now, and she found my niece and nephew,” Lance spoke slowly and calmly. “I  _ don’t _ think she deserves such a shitty welcome!” he said with more ferocity towards the woman.

Pidge put the gun back into her pants. She placed her hand gently to her face and felt a bit of blood dripping onto her hand.

“Shit, are you okay?” Lance turned to her, gently taking her uninjured cheek into his hand. He turned Pidge’s face slightly and wiped the blood with his sleeve.

“I’m fine.” Pidge pulled her face from his hand and huffed.

“I’ll take you to the infirmary,” Lance suggested. He turned and pushed past the woman and man that had held the gun to her head.

“Oh, dear. I made her bleed,” said the woman in a heavy British accent. Pidge turned over her shoulder and flipped her off.

“Pidge, that’s not how you make friends,” Lance whispered to her.

“It worked with you,” she said back, giggling. Lance rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. 

“You think we’re friends?”

Pidge sputtered a little. “No.”

Lance chuckled. “Alright. It’s in here. I put Nadia and Sylvio in here.”

“Hey Lance!” the large man from before said. Hunk, Pidge remembered. “Oh gee, what happened?” he gestured to the cut on her face.

“Allura slapped her. Hard.” 

Hunk was shocked. Pidge didn’t care. She just wanted to bandage herself better.

“And, this?” a redheaded man grabbed her arm. The sleeve of the sweater was soaked in blood.

“A scratch. I climbed out of a broken window and cut my arm. Might have hit an artery. It’s fine though. I was able to wrap it up. I can fix it better some other time.” Pidge said, showing no emotion. She couldn’t let these people know she was weak. 

All she wanted to do was get fixed up and leave during the night. Pidge would be able to get out with her stuff.

“Miss Pidge? Is that miss Pidge?” Sylvio asked. Lance spun around and swept the boy into a massive hug. “ _ Tio  _ Lance! I’ve missed you.  _ Mama _ said that she was going to see you soon, but I don’t think she was right. I think she got hurt by one of those monsters, and then miss Pidge had to take us because she was gonna die.” He started getting more and more choked up as he spoke. “Is  _ Mama _ dead?”

He started to cry into Lance’s shoulder. Lance stroked his head for a moment and just hugged him tight.

“What happened to  _ Mama _ ?” asked Nadia. She coughed harshly and started to cry. “Hunk!” she hiccuped, “my throat really hurts!” 

Hunk and Pidge rushed to her side. She gave Pidge a hug. Pidge pulled her hand away from Nadia’s side, and it was coated in a light layer of blood. She made eye contact with Hunk. Before she could say anything, however, Nadia fell limp into her arms.

“Coran! We need help!” Hunk yelled. Lance put Sylvio down and ran over to the table. Pidge laid her down and looked her over. 

“Nadia, can I lift your shirt, sweetie? Nadia’s unconscious. In first aid rules that’s an automatic yes, right?” Pidge asked, panicking.

“Yes,” said Hunk. He was grabbing medical supplies off the shelves at the speed of light.

Pidge peeled the yellow shirt off the bloody spot on Nadia’s body. A gash took up her side. It looked like teeth had raked up and down her body. Pidge stifled a cry. It was from an infected. Nadia had been scratched. It was just as bad as a bite, without the near-instant infection. It was just hitting her.

“She’s infected, we have to get her out!” Coran yelled. Hunk lifted the small body while Pidge disinfected it. She bandaged it to stop the bleeding while Hunk carried her. Lance stayed behind to comfort a sobbing Sylvio, while Coran cleaned up, watching frightfully at the three leaving the building.

Pidge sat on the ground and ushered Hunk to give her the girl.

“Can you go get blankets and a pillow for her?” Pidge asked kindly. Hunk quickly walked back into the apartment building. He emerged about five minutes later with a cot. A different woman from before followed with blankets and a pillow, plus Lance following behind sheepishly.

“Is she okay?” the woman asked. Pidge nodded slightly. She cradled Nadia. Pidge was listening to her breathing, and knew that the small child would wake up soon.

“She’s stable for now, but she doesn’t have long left to live.”

“What are we going to do?” Hunk asked, placing the cot down and allowing the other woman to make a bed.

“Well I don’t think you can leave her in the building overnight. I’ll stay out here with her for the night, then take her somewhere nice and, um. I guess I’ll figure it out.” Pidge tucked her into bed on the cot.

“No, I’ll stay with her. She’s my niece,” Lance protested.

“Lance.” Pidge stood up. “You’re not going to be able to put a bullet through her head.”

“She’ll feel safest with me, she knows me.”

“How old was she when shit hit the fan? Huh? She’s fucking seven years old, it’s miraculous that Sylvio recognized you. Nadia is a child. She knows me best and I don't even know if she trusts me! So no Lance. I’m going to stay out here with her for the night. I’m not gonna let you wimp out and get attacked and bitten because you feel too much emotion for this little girl. You’re gonna fuck up your life, and the lives of all these people--” she gestured to Hunk and the woman she still didn’t know the name of “-- and Sylvio’s. Because goddamn he needs some family after this.”

Lance’s eyes were teared up. He hugged Pidge tightly. She was in shock and didn’t reciprocate it.

“Go get my bag for me, please?” she asked to get him to let go. He nodded and released her, shambling back into the apartment building.

“My name is Shay, sorry for not introducing myself earlier,” the woman put out her hand. Pidge shook it with a smile, and then sat back onto the ground next to the cot. She got a closer look at Shay’s stomach from that angle, and saw a small baby bump.

“Pidge.”

“We can send someone out to relieve you later on,” said Hunk.

“It’s fine, I can handle it.” Pidge smiled, stroking Nadia’s hair. “It’s getting dark, you shouldn’t be out much longer, Shay. Stress is bad.” She grinned knowingly. Shay laughed and took Hunk’s hand, dragging him inside. Hunk waved once and then turned around to follow.

“Where are we? Miss Pidge? Is that you?” Nadia’s small voice asked.

“Yeah, it’s me. We’re outside.”

“But it’s not safe.”

“It’s okay. 

“But-”

“We’re okay, Nadia. I promise,” Pidge cringed at herself. It was a lie.

Lance came outside with Pidge’s bag, as well as a chair and a second blanket for Pidge. She smiled at him, and while he set up the chair for her, Pidge pulled a candy bar out of her bag. She gave it to Nadia and watched the small girl’s face light up.

Nadia tore into the candy. 

“That was my birthday present to myself,” she whispered to Lance. He looked at her with a thankful smile and presented the chair.

“I still think you should let me watch her.” Lance sat on the end of the cot.

“No, Lance. When the time comes, you won’t be able to pull the trigger.”

“What?” Nadia said through a mouthful of chocolate.

“Nothing!” Lance and Pidge said together. They looked at each other while Nadia yawned. Bae Bae trotted up to the three of them and Nadia squealed in delight. 

Pidge sat in the chair. She looked at Nadia softly, eyes passing between Lance and his niece. The child yawned.

“Pidge, I’m tired. Can you sing me a song?” she asked, curling up with the blanket.

“I- I don’t know any songs,” Pidge stuttered.

“I’ll do it.” Lance leaned towards her and smiled, “you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy…” Lance sang on, and Pidge looked away. This was a calm moment between family, Pidge felt crude interrupting it. Lance sang softly and quietly for a few moments, and Pidge felt herself tearing up. She quickly wiped at her eyes and looked away. In the far distance she saw lights, but ruled it off as the sun setting behind the trees.

Nadia was quickly asleep, and Lance smiled at Pidge, before throwing her pistol back to her. It landed on her lap, and she immediately checked the number of bullets. 18. 

“Goodnight, Lance. Take care.”

“Take care of her.”

“I will for as long as I can.”

Pidge stood up and pulled back Nadia’s blanket, and then rolled up her shirt. The infection was all the way up her side, and slowly crawling it’s way up her neck. She took the pillow from under Nadia’s head. The child growled slightly. She opened her eyes, and they were coated in a milky white. She had turned. Pidge placed the pillow over her gnashing face and placed the barrel of the gun against it. The trigger was pulled and the recoil didn’t even make Pidge flinch.

Pidge fell to her knees holding the gun and bloody pillow, a complete wreck with tears.


	5. I don't trust you that much.

“Looks like our poor Sunshine is all clouds,” a voice said. Without looking up, Pidge registered that it was one of the men from before.

“How long did it take you to come up with that one?” 

The man laughed dryly. “Get up.”

“Why?” Pidge still hadn’t looked up. 

“So I don’t shoot you?”

“So you don’t shoot me. Ha. What if I just,” she cocked the pistol and aimed up. “Shot you instead?”

“Whoa, whoa, darlin’. No need for violence.”

“But you’ve threatened me. That’s okay?” Pidge looked up now, and saw the angry stare of the man. She looked back down to Nadia’s limp body.

“I’m not going to move.” 

The man surged forwards and grabbed Pidge by the hood of her sweater, and pulled her up. She tugged harshly at the material around her throat, and struggled when he trapped her arms to her side. She kicked at him, but she was incredibly small, and this man was a giant in comparison. She didn’t want to scream, as she didn’t want to attract any infected to the others, and she didn’t want to alarm them either. The gun fell from her hand and to the ground.

“Let go of me!”

“You’ll do nicely for my boys,” said the man, nipping at her earlobe as she struggled. She pounded her fists against whatever she could reach, while she was dragged to a vehicle.

“You’re fucking sick!”

“Yeah, but it’s so much more fun than just surviving. You’ve got to live a little bit.” His hand grabbed her boob, and she cried out in pain. He started moving his hand down towards the rim of her pants.

“No! Get off!”

Bae Bae was barking madly, biting and clawing at the man. He kicked her away, and she laid down, whimpering.

Pidge had dropped her gun, but she remembered the switchblade she always kept in her boot. She lifted her leg to grab it, but before she could grasp it, a gunshot rang out and she collapsed onto the man.

She scrambled to get away from him. Still on the ground she pushed herself away. She grabbed the gun she had dropped and shot the man repeatedly in the head. She screamed obscenities at him.

“Pidge.” Lance dropped to his knees next to her. 

“No! Get off of me! I’ll kill you! I will!” she swung the gun to face him and pressed the barrel to his forehead.

“Pidge no,” Lance spoke calmly. “It’s me, it’s alright. I won’t hurt you.”

“You’ve done nothing but hurt me! You’ve fucked up my life! You showed up, then my house got overrun! I had to- I had to shoot a little girl, just so you wouldn’t have to!” She choked on her tears and turned her head to the side. “And- and then I- I-I was almost kidnapped. He tried to rape me! I- Fuck you, Lance! It’s been one fucking day. You’re the definition of a shitty day.”

Pidge stood and walked away.

“Where are you going?” Lance asked softly, not wanting to raise his voice.

“Home! Back to my house! Bae Bae! Come here baby!” she didn’t turn around again once Bae Bae was next to her.

“Wait.”

She stopped. His voice was so soft. Pidge rubbed her tongue on the bar attached to her teeth.

“Do you need a hug before you go?”

She fell down to the ground and placed her hands against her face. 

“Yes,” she whispered.

* * *

Lance slowly approached her. He knelt down next to her and placed one arm around her shaking shoulders. She held back tears as long as she could, before letting them out. Her shoulders slumped and she leaned against him. He muttered soothing sentences and caressed her back.

The sounds of snarling and growls brought his mind away from the young woman. She looked up at the monsters and sighed.

Lance pushed the hair out of her eyes and adjusted her glasses to sit on her nose better.

“Why don’t you stay here for the night? Then Hunk and I can walk you back to your house and help you clear it out. Maybe we can bring Shiro and Keith too. Then we can leave you alone.”

He followed Pidge’s gaze over to the dead body of the man who had attacked her.

“Okay,” she whispered. Lance helped her stand up and aided her on the walk to the building. The biters were getting closer, and he gently ushered her to walk faster. She wiped her eyes and started jogging, Lance right by her side. He opened the door and locked it behind the two. 

It was dark out, about eight at night, so he knew that Shay and Hunk would have gone to bed. Keith was a light sleeper, so he would most likely still be awake. He wasn’t sure about the others.

He led her up the stairs to the common area where the group usually played cards and ate their meals. The different rooms were strewn throughout the building, but as some walls had collapsed and some ceilings had caved, there wasn’t a lot of the building they could explore.

Lance always had the looming feeling that there were biters stuck in the sealed part of the building. There was always the threat of the creatures getting in from below, but none of the other group members seemed concerned about a threat above them.

He knocked on the door in a rhythmic pattern to let the others know that it was him, and he was safe. Pidge seemed to pay close attention to the knock.

“That’s cute.”

Lance smiled at her kindly. He opened the door and the four sitting at the table looked up. They were playing some sort of card game. 

“Why is she here? What happened to the child?” Shiro asked. Pidge looked at the ground and Lance rubbed up and down against her back.

“Oh,” said Shiro. “I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is.”

Allura stood up. She approached Pidge and held out her hand. Pidge cautiously took it.

“My name is Allura. I apologize that we got off on the wrong foot, and I take all the blame. We appreciate what you have done for our dear Lance. Thank you.”

Pidge nodded and shook lightly. Shiro introduced himself, and Keith apologized for his first interaction with her. She graciously accepted it by crossing her arms and nodding towards him.

“Would you like us to deal you two in?” Coran asked. Pidge had previously met him, so it wasn’t as pertinent that he reintroduced himself.

“I think I’ll give her a small tour of the place. Show her where she can stay.” Lance opened the door and swept his arm into it, gesturing for Pidge to exit.

“It was nice to officially meet you,” she gave a soft smile before walking through the door.

“They’re good people, really,” Lance said after shutting the door. “They’re just a bit on edge because of… well, you. They’re not really that terrible once you get to know them. It’s just that new people can mess things up.”

“I’ve had many first hand experiences with that,” she sighed. 

They walked up a few flights of stairs, before they were blocked off by collapsed debris.

“So this is where Hunk and Shay sleep. They’re probably out cold by now. She’s about to pop. The kid is due any day now. She’s been sleeping a lot, and Hunk’s just been at her side the whole time,” Lance whispered.

Pidge nodded in understanding. She looked up at him with soft, tired eyes. Eyes brimming with tears, and Lance felt a pang in his chest. 

“Is it okay if you just show me where I can stay?” she asked quietly.

“Oh, um, yeah. Of course.” He put his arm around her shoulders and she stiffened. He pulled it back quickly and cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

Pidge didn’t say anything, just looked at the ground. She muttered a quiet, ‘it’s okay’, and Lance lead her to his room. He opened the door and found Sylvio sleeping on his bed. He was alright with that, and lifted up the small boy. He stirred in his arms but didn’t wake up.

“Damn, trusting kid,” Pidge chuckled dryly. 

“You can take the bed. I’m gonna take him to another room.”

Lance knew that Allura and Shiro had a spare bed in their room. They wouldn’t mind if Sylvio stayed in there for the night, he was sure. His room had a bed and a soft lounge chair. He would give the bed to Pidge, and sleep in the chair.

He gently placed Sylvio down onto the spare mattress and left the room, leaving the flashlight from Shiro’s nightstand next to him.

He reentered his room and found Pidge curled up in the chair. He knew she wasn’t going to take the mattress, but refused to let her sleep on the chair. Apocalypse or not, he had been raised a gentleman.

He gently tapped her shoulder, and she stirred, looking up at him.

“Come on, you’re not sleeping there.”

Pidge stood without protest and sleepily shambled over to the mat. Lance pulled the blanket up over the small woman and turned to the chair. It had been a long day, and he decided that he was ready to sleep as well. It was Keith’s night to keep watch anyway.

Lance didn’t sleep that night. Neither did Pidge, it seemed. He tried, but it just wouldn’t come. He looked at the ceiling, examined his gun and even counted all the tiles on the floor, but sleep just wouldn’t take over.

The sun came up eventually, and once it had cleared the window, Pidge sprang out of the bed. 

“I know you’re awake.” She kicked the leg of his chair. Lance smirked.

“Didn’t sleep. You?”

“Nope. I don’t trust you that much.”

Lance chuckled. “Come on, the rest of the crew is probably up already.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'll be going through and fixing the many continuity errors I know there already are.


	6. Can we play Crazy Eights?

The first week went along smoothly. Pidge had no issue immersing herself with the group, and she actually considered herself friends with them. On occasion she would go up to the highest balcony and take over watch. No one let Shay keep watch for the night, so now that there were seven of them to watch the building for the night, everyone took a turn once a night.

By the second week Pidge had been a frequent on the trips around town to find supplies. She and Shay spent a lot of time together during the day, and during Keith’s watch, she would go and visit him. He would do the same. Sometimes they would make the offhand snarky comment about one of the other members of the group, but otherwise it was comfortable silence.

Pidge enjoyed spending time with Hunk as well. The two could happily talk engineering and mechanics for hours.

One day, Keith, Lance, Hunk and Shiro took Pidge out on a run, and Lance stumbled upon an old hand radio. Pidge immediately grabbed it and started fiddling with it.

“Pidge,” Shiro chuckled. “I suggest you wait until we’re back. Don’t want you getting bitten.” His words were light hearted, even in this crisis, but Pidge’s heart felt heavy. She made quick eye contact with Lance, but neither said anything. Pidge was grateful he had kept his mouth shut this long.

She was disappointed, but pocketed the radio and carried on with the supply run.

When they returned, Pidge immediately ran to hers and Lance’s room and opened it. She dug through her backpack for a screwdriver and batteries and got to work on it. 

After half an hour of tinkering, she managed to get static. She cheered in triumph and pumped her fist in the air. Lance came into the room and plopped down onto the chair. He had spent the time back from the run playing with Sylvio and Bae Bae, and Keith’s pet Kosmo.

“I’m exhausted.”

“You can take the bed tonight if you want.”

“It’s your night, though.” 

The two had been swapping nightly. They had worked it out to match their watch schedule, and Pidge offering up her night would throw it off entirely.

“I don’t care. You can have it tonight. I’m gonna listen to the radio and then probably go hang out with Allura or Keith later on. You can have it tomorrow too.”

“You’re throwing off the whole schedule, Pidge.”

“You can take it tomorrow too, I don’t give a shit.” Pidge rubbed her eyes. She had been having a hard time falling asleep as of late, and didn’t think it was going to help her just by laying down. She needed to actually tire herself out.

“Are you sure?” Lance asked,looking over at her. She was currently perched on the bed, but she was poised to move out of the way as soon as Lance requested. He shook his head, but stood up and nodded his head to the side, telling her to scooch.

“Pidge, are you okay?” Lance leaned in close to her face and looked at her eyes. The bags were visible, Pidge assumed, because his eyebrow creased together and he looked at her frustratedly.

“You haven’t been sleeping, have you?”

Pidge looked away from him.

“I don’t need your judgment.” She snatched the now working radio from the bed beside her and trudged downstairs to the group's common area. Lance followed her, squawking indignantly about her ignoring him. She wasn’t paying attention.

She sat down at the table and placed the radio on the table. The others looked at her quickly, and then looked over to Lance, who was still chastising her for lying to him about her sleeping.

He was quickly shut up when Pidge pushed a button and the radio sparked to life with commentary.

“Th- oadcast- all- ations.” It said. Keith snatched it from the table and turned the volume dial up all the way. He held it up higher, trying to get a better signal. The audio cleared up a bit and the words no longer cut out.

“This is the CDC, centre for disease control. We are looking for Katie Holt.” 

Pidge’s expression turned blank and her face shaded white.

“Katie is a young woman, approximately twenty years old. She has reddish-brown and honey coloured eyes. She has small features, like her nose and ears. She has freckles, everywhere. She had a petite build and is approximately five foot, two inches.

“If you see Katie Holt, get this message to her. Katie, if you are listening, the CDC is working to develop a cure. You are a key part to that vaccine.

"You will be provided with safe entry, food, water, showers, doctors, and anything else you might desire.

"To any companions that Katie may have, the same will be provided.

"If Katie does not come easily and we are forced to use brutality, or any form of force, either from the Atlanta Police Department, or companions of Katie, we request that she is brought in alive.

"The CDC, Located in Atlanta, Georgia, awaits your arrival.”

The audio cut out, and then started replaying.

“This is broadcast on all stations,” it said.

They listened to the beginning of the broadcast again. The description of Katie Holt. All eyes in the room turned to Pidge. And she swiftly left the room. 

* * *

“What the fuck?” Allura yelled. Sylvio’s head perked up. He had been crushed since his sister died, and Lance was trying to keep him as cheerful as possible. Hearing Allura yell obviously startled him.

“It described her exactly,” said Shay, rubbing her swollen belly. Hunk squeezed her shoulders gently.

“Someone should go get her.”

“Wait,” said Lance. “Are we going to the CDC? Are we going all the way to Atlanta? If that was a description of Pidge, are we going to force her all the way across the country?"

“What makes you say we’re forcing her?” Shiro added in.

“Well from her reaction would you say she wants to go?” Keith said.

“I think she’s hiding something from us.” Allura stood up.

“And if she is? What would it be? Her fucking identity? What’s the point!? They’ve probably been searching for this Katie Holt for years. Pidge has told me that she’s had radio’s before. Don’t you think she would have heard that broadcast? It said itself it’s being announced over every station.”

“Something is up with her. And you know what it is, don’t you Lance?” Allura questioned. She pointed an accusing finger at him.

“Okay, everyone calm down,” Shiro tried to settle the two.

“It would be a safe place for Shay to have her baby,” Hunk said. He hadn’t participated in the conversation thus far, but his piece was probably the most important. That shut everyone up. Allura sighed.

“Why don’t we bring Pidge down and have a heart to heart?” Coran suggested. “We can  _ calmly _ ask her why she ran off. We can all share things that have been weighing down on us.” 

Coran gave a pointed look to Allura. She looked at the ground.

“I’ll go get her.” Lance walked out the door and ran up the steps, two at a time.

He entered their shared room and found Pidge curled up in the chair staring down tearfully at a small device in her hands. It was a camera, Lance noted. When she saw him enter the room, she placed the camera to the side and stood up, quickly wiping her eyes.

“Come on. We’re having an ‘honesty session.’” Lance air quoted with his fingers, hoping to make Pidge smile. It didn’t work, and she just hung her head, walking to the door.

“Alright. Honesty is the best policy, I guess.”

The two quickly trotted down the stairs. Everyone was sitting at the table, waiting for them. Even Sylvio was sitting with the adults. Pidge and Lance took the two remaining seats next to each other.

“This is the confession session. Anything said at this table, will be accepted as part of our day to day lives,” Coran explained. “All weapons are to be placed on the table.” He pulled out his own hand gun and placed it at the center of the table. Everyone else followed suit.

“Simple questions first,” said Shiro. “I’ll start. Who here had a significant other before the apocalypse?”

He and Coran raised their hands. 

“Who had siblings before this?” asked Shay, raising her hand. Pidge, Lance, Hunk and Sylvio did the same.

Coran elbowed Allura lightly.

“Who is pregnant?” she asked, slowly raising her hand. Shay raised her hand without second thought, while everyone around her hesitated.

“Who’s hiding something?” Keith asked. He didn’t raise his hand, just stared at Pidge.

“Fine. You wanna know the truth? When I was fourteen I moved out of my shitty house and lived on my own. My parents were top scientists, and they’re the ones that developed this whole fucking catastrophe in the first place. I was injected with an active strain of the virus, and right after I was let out, there was the virus. Surprise. Two non lethal bites later and I’m sitting at the table with you.” She huffed, crossing her arms.

“So the bandaging on your arm isn't covering a cut from glass?” Coran asked skeptically. Pidge pulled it off, revealing a healing over bite wound.

Keith sprang up and grabbed the first gun he could, aiming it at her head. Allura followed his actions exactly.

“She’s been infected this whole fucking time!?” Allura yelled.

“Calm the fuck down!” Shiro yelled. “She’s clearly not going to turn!”

“This right here,” Pidge pointed to her arm. “Is bite number two. There. Everything is out on the table.”

“So, are you Katie Holt?” Shay asked meekly.

Pidge nodded. “Pidge was a nickname my brother gave me when I was younger. I guess it was just nice to keep a part of him alive.”

“Well, we’ve decided that we’re taking you to the CDC. It’s a safe place for Shay, and now,” Shiro faltered. “Allura, to have a baby.”

“Fine.”

“No protesting?” Keith asked, lowering his gun slightly.

“No. We can take the truck from my old garage. It will fit us all.”

“Good. We’ll leave tomorrow.”

Pidge left the room and walked up the stairs. 

“How long have you known?” Shay asked quietly to Allura, placing a gentle hand on her leg.

“I’ve had morning sickness for a few weeks now. I haven’t had my period in a month. I could be sick, but the most likely reason is pregnancy. Coran has known for some time as well.” 

No one spoke for a few moments after that.

“Can we play crazy eights?” Sylvio asked. The adults chuckled, and Coran grabbed the deck of cards

Lance felt bad, but didn’t want to chase after Pidge. He assumed she needed a bit to herself. So he joined the card game.


	7. Fuck I loved that dog

Later in the evening, once the kerosene lamp was dimming, everyone decided to go to bed. Hunk took his place on the watch balcony. Lance went up to his and Pidge’s room.

When he entered, he noticed that Pidge had left her camera out. She was entirely passed out on the bed, and Lance felt very inclined to snoop. He picked it up, and switched it on. He wasn’t sure how it was still running, but it was.

Lance scrolled through the videos until he found the very first one, dated March 8th, 2014. He pressed play, and was contentedly absorbed into the life of young Katie ‘Pidge’ Holt.

_“Hey Matt! First day of living on my own! Yay! The camera is currently sitting on a box of my clothes. But you didn’t need to know that. Uh… there are no boxes. I have my life together.”_ She scrunched her face up and twiddled her thumbs back and forth, expressing that she was not telling the truth.

_“Want a tour of my apartment?”_ She sprang up excitedly. _“It’s super neat. It only has two rooms, but that’s all I need.”_ A small dog bounced at her feet, jumping up onto her legs. She shooed it away, grabbing the camera and filming shakily.

_“When I say two rooms, I mean the room I’m standing in and the bathroom. But that’s fine. Over here is my kitchen!”_ She launched herself over the back of her couch. She showed off the corner of the room that housed a gas stove, toaster oven and fridge.

_“The refrigerator is kinda loud, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. Over here is my living room.”_ She quickly swung around and filmed the other side of the room. _“The TV doesn’t turn on, but I’ll get to fixing that at some point relatively soon.”_

Sitting on the floor across from an old tube TV was a futon couch. Pidge tossed herself onto the futon and turned the camera around to film herself again.

_“And you know what the best part is? I live completely on my own! You, Matthew, moved out at nineteen. Loser.”_ She held her thumb and forefinger in the shape of an ‘L’ on her forehead._ “I’m five years ahead of you. No, Gunner, get off of the box.”_ She rose up and pulled the puppy over to the couch, where he contentedly laid down.

_“I’m not supposed to have any pets, so I’m fucked if my landlord finds him,” she whispered close to the camera. Anyway, that’s all for now. I’ll make another one of these tomorrow to tell you how fantastic life on my own is. Have fun with your dumb fucking roommate!”_ She stuck her tongue out and stopped recording.

Lance laughed slightly while he clicked to the next video.

_“Day two motherfucker! Life is good. I met my neighbours this morning. They don’t seem to be taking very kindly to having a fourteen year old neighbour. Whatever. I don’t have to talk to those guys. I went grocery shopping today. That was pretty fun. Oh! And--”_ she grabbed the camera from its perch and ran to the window. There was a small yellow townhouse. _“-- the woman that lives there is named Mrs. Gladwell. She’s the sweetest person in the whole world.”_

Lance watched, video after video, as she chattered away about everything. The cost of rent, Mrs. Gladwell, Gunner. All of it. Then he came to the video dated exactly two weeks before the outbreak. Pidge was sitting calmly in front of the camera.

_“So. Mom called today. I haven’t spoken to her in awhile. At first I thought it was one of those obligatory ‘how’s life?’ calls. But she said that the lab was looking for human test subjects. I’m getting paid six thousand dollars for it._

_“I’m gonna be hospitalized for a few days, so I won’t be able to send you videos for a bit. In other news, I’ve been spending a lot of time over at Mrs. Gladwell’s house. I’ve been helping her in the garden, and her dog Bae Bae loves me. Let’s see, what else?_

_“Oh! She taught me how to make three dollar peanut butter cookies! They’re amazing. Mrs. G doesn’t get out much. Her husband died a few years ago. She said it’s been kind of lonely at her house, since no one from the apartments wants to go and spend any time with her, and she never had kids of her own._

_“So, she said that as long as she lives, she’ll bake me treats, and teach me how to cook, and have me over for dinner. Speaking of, I’m going over to her house tonight for supper. Then it’s off to the lab tomorrow.”_

She gave a slight thumbs up and an unconvincing smile. She was clearly nervous.

_“Anyway, that’s it. See you in a week.”_

The video shut off. Lance felt a slight pang in his chest. He ignored it and looked up at the young woman laying on the bed. She was star fished across it, taking up the entire thing. 

There was another video dated a few hours later on that same day. Pidge’s face was very close to the camera as she spoke.

_“Update, I found a worm in Mrs. Gladwell’s garden while I was getting lettuce. I’ve named him Herm the Worm. He’s sitting in a jar of dirt on my window sill.”_

Lance laughed. This young, fun girl seemed nothing like the hardened woman she would later become.

The next video was three days later.

_“The doctors let me go early, because… apparently the test worked? I’m supposed to be some kind of super human, but I still just feel like a dumb ass._

_“Oh also, this dumb ass is turning a year older tomorrow! Yay, baby! I’m gonna buy an ice cream cake and watch Netflix all day.”_

In the next entry, Pidge’s expression was somber.

_“So, I’m not going out for a cake. Mrs. Gladwell called. She’s in the hospital right now. Some guy broke into her house and attacked her. She wants me to go stay at her place and take care of her dog while she’s gone. That’s fine. Gunner and Bae Bae get along great. Oh god, I hope Bae Bae is fixed.”_

As the days progressed, things got less and less upbeat.

_“So the world is ending? I’ve been listening to the news, and it’s telling people to evacuate large cities. Public transit is down, and I don’t know how to drive. I mean, I’ve read all the manuals, and I’m a fucking beast at Mario Kart. But I don’t want to risk crashing Mrs. Gladwell’s truck. I guess I’ll just wait it out and see what happens._

_“And in less depressing news, I ran out of eggs. So then, being the genius that I am, I bought a chicken. Now before you freak out, I’m lying. I bought three. Their names are Blue, Tom and Elmo. I love them. Except they shit all over the place and lay eggs in my bed. I’ll probably build them a little house next to the garden outside.”_

On cue, a large bluish-grey rooster flew up and perched on the back of the couch behind her. She giggled as the chicken crawled up onto her head and nestled in her hair.

_“Sadly, Mrs. Gladwell hasn’t returned yet. At this point, I don’t think she will. I’m-”_ Pidge was cut off by uneven thuds at the door. Her head whipped around and she looked at the door, uneasy. The chicken squawked as it flew off, leaving a mess of tangles in Pidge’s hair. She quickly turned off the camera.

The next entry, out of rhythm with the entry dates, was three days later. Pidge didn’t look as energetic as before.

_“My sneakers broke. I don’t have any others, and my feet are too small to fit in any of Mrs. G’s shoes. I’m gonna go out and get a new pair. Can’t tend to the garden barefoot, no can I?” She chuckled half heartedly._

_“I-uh, I haven’t seen another person in a while. At least not a fully living one. I think I know what happened actually._

_“When my parents were experimenting, their lab was full of crazy people. S-sick people. And I heard some doctors talking. One of the sick people… he got out. According to the one news channel that’s still running, the lab has since shut down._

_“I haven’t left the house in about two weeks. I’ve started rationing my food, and even going without some nights, so I can feed my dogs._

_“Mrs. Gladwell isn’t coming back. No one is.”_

She paused and rubbed at her eyes.

_“I’ve made barricades for the windows and the back door out of old scrap metal in the garage. I made a little hen house, but a biter ate Tom. I moved the coop into the laundry room. And I put extra locks on the door, on the inside and the outside, for when I have to leave._

_“I’m going to get, or at least look for food and more supplies. WIsh me luck.”_

Lance felt a slight sting in the corners of his eyes. It finally registered that this was the house he and Hunk had found her in. The next video was dated three weeks later.

_“I forgot about this thing. Life’s been getting in the way, I guess. The other day, I went out, and only went back to my old apartment building. I’m surprised no one ended up robbing the place._

_“I managed to load my bag with all the food and medical supplies I could fit in it. I even found a bag of dog food in the Watson’s place. I think they paid more to have a dog._

_“I broke into Mr. Manchester’s house. I didn’t feel too bad. He was a total dick. Anyway, while I was digging through his nightstand, I found this.”_

She held up a pistol and a box of ammunition.

_“There were a bunch more boxes of ammo under his bed. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for someone my age to have one of these, but fuck it. It’s not like there’s any legalities in place anymore.”_

She put down the handgun and picked up something else.

_“I built this.”_

She showed off an odd looking device. It was an old crank powered flashlight, with a bunch of extra wires and an old wall plug sticking out.

_“It’s to charge my camera! Oh, hold on. There’s a biter at my door. Bae Bae does not stop whining at those things.”_

There wasn’t another video until three years later. Pidge looked much older, as she must have been an adult by now. Her previously long hair had been chopped off in a clearly hasty hack job. She sat cross legged on her couch, looking genuinely comfortable. Lance wasn’t afraid to admit to himself that she was quite attractive.

_“Happy birthday, bitch. Eighteen. Feeling pretty great. I haven’t made one of these in years. You know, I’ve been wondering what happened to you, Matt. I can’t send these to you anymore, so I think, if I continue making these for a bit, it’ll be for my own sanity._

_“To be honest, I didn’t forget about the camera. I’ve been using it to keep track of the date._

_“I haven’t seen a living person in forever. I was about fifteen the last time, I think. He and I just stared each other down. I don’t think he was actually much older than me. Neither of us said anything. We just ran in separate directions.”_

She smiled fondly at the memory. She looked at the ceiling and breathed deeply.

_“Both my dogs are still alive and well. My garden is thriving, and I even let Elmo and Blue have chicks. Surviving by myself isn’t as bad as the movies would have you believe. It’s peaceful. Before everything happened, this side of town wasn’t even that busy. I only get three to five biters a week, and Bae Bae and Gunner have learned that silent means safe. They don’t make a lot of noise, even when they play._

_“I’m gonna be honest. At this point, I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I know what the test was for. It was a strain of the virus. It was just… compatible with my body. It was the right combination of chemicals and enzymes in the batch I was given. I know that, because, a year ago, I was bitten._

_“When this all went down, in the beginning, I had seen some pretty gnarly stuff. I know what the bites do. But I didn’t have the willpower to shoot myself._

_“I am a coward. I see that now. But I think it’s a little better, because I’m by myself. No, a year later, I’m still perfectly healthy. Sometimes the scar will rip open, and it will sting like a bitch, but other than that… no difference._” She shrugged.

_“Well. It is my eighteenth birthday, and I am officially an adult. Which means I’m going to celebrate by eating an entire family pack of peanut butter and chocolate Mini Eggs!”_

She held up the large purple and blue package in front of the camera and shook it excitedly, a huge grin on her face.

Lance smiled as she leaned forwards and ended the recording.

The next one was the final entry. Pidge looked exactly the same as the day before. The only difference was that her hair was disheveled and her clothes were coated in blood. Her arms were also covered, up to her elbows.

_“I shot a man today. I’ve only shot my handgun once in the time that I’ve had it. It makes too much noise. And before today I thought I had shitty aim. I guess I was wrong._

_“I was out working in my garden, and I heard Gunner growling. He didn’t do that to the biters, so I though maybe it was some kind of wild animal. I turned around and there was a man. He started to yell and raised his rifle. Um, Gunner attacked him, And then the man shot Gunner.”_

She squeezed her eyes shut and allowed a few tears to fall.

_“I shot the guy. Then and there. The bullet hit him in the chest, and I made sure he wasn’t going to come back by shooting him again in the head. I left him for the biters. There are about six out there right now. I’ll deal with them tomorrow._

_“I’ve got Gunner… his body, I mean. It-it’s in my bathtub. I plan on burying him in the morning. Probably out in the woods somewhere. Bae Bae hasn’t gotten up off the couch since it happened.”_

She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, leaving a small trail of blood on her upper lip.

_“Fuck I loved that dog.”_

The video cut out.


	8. You just shot my fucking brother

“So Lance, did you enjoy snooping through my life?”

Lance’s head shot up from the camera. He started to splutter, trying to come up with an excuse. It was obvious that he couldn’t. Pidge stood from the bed and stretched.

“It’s fine. It’s my own fault. I shouldn’t have left it out.” She lazily shambled over to him and sat next to him with her back against the wall. Lance was acutely aware of her leg, pressed right against his.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked lamely, handing the camera over. Pidge fiddled with it for a moment.

“I wasn’t really sleeping. But I was fully conscious when little me was screaming about how Elmo ate Herm.”

Lance laughed under his breath. Pidge handed the camera back to him. 

“You can have it, I have no use for it anymore. You seemed to enjoy it.” Lance smiled and carefully wrapped his arm around her, half hugging, half hoping to not get yelled at by her. To his surprise, and delight, she leaned into his side and rested her head on his chest. He didn’t know how long they sat like that on the floor, but he was brought out of the cathartic moment by Pidge patting him on the chest.

“Come on, you’re taking the bed tonight.” She laced her hand into his and tried to pull him up.

“I refuse,” he said, not moving. Pidge huffed in frustration. Instead of fighting with him like a child, she sat back down next to him and rested her head against the wall.

“If you won’t take the bed, then neither will I.”

“Are you trying to spite me?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’m not taking the damn bed, Pidge.”

“Then neither am I.”

Lance huffed, blowing shaggy hair out of his eyes.

The two sat in silence for a bit. Pidge eventually started drifting off, and she unconsciously let her head rest on Lance’s shoulder. She was only roused from her near sleep state by a strong set of arms lifting her from the ground.

“You sneaky bastard.” She lightly swatted at his arm, but he didn’t put her down, instead carrying her to the shitty mattress. He laid her down on her back and started to walk away. She reached out and tried to grab his arm. She missed, but her fingertips brushed the palm of his hand and he got the message.

“Either we share it or neither of us use it,” she mumbled sleepily. He stopped walking and looked down at her.

“There isn’t enough-”

“Shut up and lay down.”

“But-”

“Shh, sleep.” Her eyes were now closed. Lance gently laid down next to her, and she scooted to the edge, making space for him. Lance started to drift off. Pidge ended up rolling over, and he let her cuddle into his side. His nose rested in her hair. It smelled oddly nice considering the circumstances. 

She stirred, eyes opening slightly, running her finger along the dog tags on his chest. She yawned, and fell back asleep. Lance laid in silence, attempting to sleep, when it eventually took him.

_ “Marco! You’re home!” Lance yelled in excitement. His older brother had returned for his annual break from the military. He was still in his cargo pants and muscle shirt, dog tags shining in the kitchen light. _

_ Marco scooped a fifteen year old Lance up into his arms. Lance was incredibly hyped. Marco, Luis and him were supposed to have a quality day of brotherly bonding, the first day that Marco returned from the military. Lance was almost bouncing as he said goodbye to his parents and sisters and niece and nephew. _

_ He clambered into the back seat of the car while Marco took the passenger seat, and Luis started the car. _

_ “Where are we going, exactly?” Marco asked skeptically. His brothers were known to pull pranks on each other.  _

_ “Well, there’s a new video game store at the mall. Lance has been dying to go,” Luis explained. _

_ “It’s a  _ video game _ store. How could I not be excited?” he asked, eyes bugging out. Marco rolled his eyes, a small smile visible through the windshield reflection. Marco told his brothers about everything that had been going on in his life. His new girlfriend, his shitty commander and even some of the boys that had gone out to fight this weird outbreak in their own town. _

_ Lance thought nothing of it. Luis turned on the radio, expecting some music that he hadn’t heard in a while to play. Instead, it was a news broadcast. _

_ “ _ We advise all residents of this town to stay indoors. Barricade windows and doors. Or, if you have the opportunity, flee large cities. _ ” Marco shut it off again. _

_ “Weird,” Lance muttered. _

_ The three arrived at the mall, and Lance chatted away with Marco about this cute girl from school. Marco was giving him tips on how to win her over, when an announcement came over the loudspeakers. _

_ “ _ Evacuate _ !” it yelled. Marco grabbed his brothers’ by the hands and raced in the opposite direction of everyone else. Lance knew what he was doing. Being in a large crowd would make it harder to get out. There was a lesser known back door to the building. _

_ As soon as they reached the food court, a man leapt at Lance. Marco threw his brother out of the way, and yelled in pain as the stranger's teeth sank into his neck.  _

_ “Marco!” Lance screamed. He raced to his brother’s side as he fell. Luis had grabbed a metal food court chair and started beating the stranger with it. He collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap. _

_ “Marco, oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh my god, what do I do?” Lance was panicking. All his previous first aid training flew out the window. Marco couldn’t speak. Blood was pouring from the side of his neck, and when he coughed, it came from his mouth as well. He reached up and pulled his necklace off, giving it to Lance with a blood soaked hand.  _

_ Lance only took it when he couldn’t feel Marco’s pulse. _

_ “Lance! We have to go!” Louis yelled. He grabbed Lance by the shirtsleeve and pulled him through the building. Lance shoved the chain in his pocket, but could barely see through his tears. He barely registered the gunshot that rang out, knocking Luis to the ground. A woman with shaky hands looked at him, horror on her face. _

_ “Oh fuck! I thought he was one of those things!” she cried, running to them. _

_ “You just shot my fucking brother!” Lance cried. She started crying too, sitting on her knees, holding the pistol loosely in her hands.  _

_ Lance only felt rage. Both of his brothers were gone within five minutes of each other. He didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t stop the monster-person from grabbing the woman and taking a large chunk out of her shoulder. _

_ “Help me!” she cried through her own blood and tears. Lance thought quickly. She had killed his brother. It was an accident. She was in pain. Lance grabbed the gun and fired two shots, both into the heads of each of them, the woman and the crazy man. He held tight to it, noting what he had just done. _

_ He didn’t have much time to think. A tall man came and crouched next to him. _

_ “Come on kid, you’ve got to get out of here.” He held out his hand and Lance took it. The two made it the rest of the way. _

_ “Do you have a vehicle, kid?” the man asked. Lance nodded. The man looked around. There weren’t a lot of those monsters outside of the mall, but there were plenty of scared people running to their vehicles. _

_ “Do you need help getting there?” _

_ “I’m good.” Lance shook his head. The man nodded, and the two parted. Lance ran to the car with his handgun at the ready. He didn’t know how many bullets were left, and he didn’t know how to take the clip out to check, but he prayed that there were enough to make it back to the car. _

_ “Shit, fuck!” he almost yelled. He didn’t have keys. He did have his cell phone, however. He pulled it out and called his mother. She answered after almost six rings, and her voice was panicked. _

_ “ _ Lance!  _ Mijo _ ! Are you okay? What’s going on?”  _ The call was crackling but Lance was capable of making out her words. _

_ “Marco and Luis are dea-dead!” he cried. His mother's cries were audible on the other side of the call. _

_ “Mijo _ , where are you? _ ” she asked. _

_ “We went to the mall. I’m in the east lot but I don’t have keys. Luis had them.” He could barely hear his own words through the blood pounding in his head. Sirens were going off, and armed forces arrived at the mall. Lance crouched down between his brother’s car and the one next to it. He had the gun aimed up, ready to shoot any of the things that attacked. _

_ “ _ I’m coming to get you,  _ mi bebe _ . Don- _ ” the call was dropped. Lance tucked his knees to his chest and hid his face against his legs. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He kept his ears on high alert. _

_ It suddenly registered that he was a delinquent teenager. He and his friends had jacked cars for fun once, and he remembered how to get in. He had never been the one to vandalize the vehicles, always standing watch, but he remembered researching how to do it. _

_ He had a pocket knife, so he pulled it from his coat and jammed it into the window in front of the lock. He jimmied it around until he heard the click. He climbed into the driver's seat and locked the door behind him. He was going to try to hot wire the car, something he had never paid much attention to, but he remembered that his mother was coming to get him, and he should stay put. _

_ He waited for almost three hours. The sirens had gone, and the screams had died down. There were still plenty of cars strewn about through the parking lot, but there was no one around. He couldn’t even see very many monsters. The sirens and cars had taken them away. They seemed to go after any loud sounds. _

_ Lance was scared. It didn’t take three hours to get from his house to the mall. Something must have been holding his mother up. It was starting to get dark, and Lance didn’t want to stay in the car overnight. His cellphone was no longer working, as all signals had been shut down. _

_ He made a bold choice, and decided to leave the car. He opened the door silently. He had been fiddling with the pistol, and had managed to find the clip release. He had another seventeen shots left. He crept up to the mall. All the lights were off save for the emergencies. The door was closed, but not locked, and Lance only saw a few of the creepy human  _ things _ in there. He figured if he could make enough noise to draw them all out.  _

_ He opened the doors and threw a rock at a nearby car. Not too close to the building, but close enough that they would hear it. The window shattered and the alarm went off. Thankfully, Luis was a car engineer. He had once told Lance that a basic station wagon's alarm would go off for fifteen minutes.  _

_ Lance watched from behind another car as the creatures slowly shambled out of the building. His heart dropped when he saw both of his brothers emerge. He didn’t have time to dwell, because as soon as there were no more things coming out of the mall, he swiftly made his way inside. He readied his knife. If sound drew the creatures, he didn’t want to be popping caps in their asses. He locked the door, and quickly made his way around checking all of the doors. It was a multistory building so it wasn’t very wide. When he decided that the bottom story was clear, he went to the food court. He figured it was the end of the world. Looting a food place wouldn’t warrant too long in jail. _

_ He pulled the chain out of his pocket and threw it over his neck. _

_ “Lance!” someone screamed. He recognized the voice, but didn’t know who it was. It couldn’t have been his mother. She should have been there hours ago. _

He was shaken awake. Pidge hovered over him.

“Come on, we have to go get the truck.”

“Right,” Lance muttered. He ran the tag along the chain on his neck. His thumbnail scratched at the dry bloodstain on it. After six years, that blood wasn’t coming off.


	9. Doesn't alcohol have an expiration date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's back! 
> 
> And she disappears for twenty more years.

The admittedly large group of nine made their way through the forest, led by Lance, Pidge and Hunk. Allura, Shay, Sylvio, and Coran were to stay in the center of the group, and Shiro and Keith brought up the rear. Kosmo and Bae Bae played around, running in and out of the group. Sylvio was told to keep quiet, holding onto Shay’s hand. 

Because of the exceedingly pregnant woman, the group moved slower than Pidge would have liked. However, after almost two hours of walking, they found the yellow townhouse. Pidge’s heart leaped at the sight of it.

“Oh, fuck, they knocked down my garden fence. All my lettuce is trampled!” she whined.

“You know,” said Shiro. “You remind me so much of my college roommate. Right down to the hair. He was the funniest guy. He always talked about his little sister too.” Shiro reminisced at the thought. Pidge brushed it off, for another thing was more pressing than that. 

There were no biters.

Not one. Pidge held up her hand to stop the group, and she, Lance, and Keith took to the front of the group, but Pidge had the two boys wait at the door. The door was closed, something that had not been done when she had last left. The window barricades weren’t sealed. Pidge slowly crept into the house, gun at the ready.

No threats in the immediate area, she went to her room to grab a few things from her nightstand. She smiled as she pulled out the old blue handheld game system and its respective charger. She also snagged the old hand charger she had built. Sylvio would love this.

She walked out of her room to see Lance enter the house, only to freeze when she looked into her old kitchen.

There was a biter. There was only one, and he was lazily shambling around the kitchen, and Pidge felt her chest clench. She couldn’t breathe. Her weapon clattered from her hands and she sank to her knees. She couldn’t believe it.

It didn’t feel like him, but it was him. Milky white eyes and a decaying face were the only differences. Auburn hair matted to his forehead, a bloody, faded brown shirt. 

“No!” she screamed. “Matt, no!” 

And she cried. She hadn’t cried that hard since the day Gunner was shot. Lance raised his rifle and Pidge yelled out to him.

“No! Leave him alone,” she cried, grabbing his arm. Matt was coming closer. The starting of an engine barely registered in her ears. “Lance, he can’t be!” 

“I know, Pidge I know,” he grabbed her upper arm and pulled her from the floor. She scrambled to get her pistol off the ground.

“Pidge, we have to go, they’re waiting.”

“Lance, let me go!” she snapped, scraping at his arms, trying to get out of his grip. “I can’t leave him like that!” 

“Katie,” Lance said, voice gentle but firm. “You won’t be able to do it.”

Her chin trembled, and she collapsed into his arms. She knew Matt was getting closer, but she couldn’t move. She rested her forehead on his sternum, and only cried harder when the gunshot rang out. 

“Katie, we have to leave,” he mumbled. Pressing a kiss against the crown of her head, Lance started to pull her from the house. She held tightly to his calloused hand as they left the building, and as they approached the now running truck, no one questioned the tears still pouring from Pidge’s eyes. 

The six seats had been taken inside the truck, and Keith sat in the box, quickly joined by the other two. Shiro was in the driver’s seat, with Hunk between him and Coran, and Allura and Shay on each side of Sylvio in the backseat. Pidge stayed quiet. She tucked her knees up to her chest and played with a fraying string on the hem of her shirt. When Lance leaned against the window of the truck and wrapped his arm around her, she didn’t lean into his embrace as she usually would have. 

Keith stayed silent, looking to the side, watching their surroundings. 

Pidge knew that normally from their current state, arriving in Atlanta would take a day and a half, and she was sure only Shiro and Coran knew how to drive. They would have to take a break, and Pidge could slip away.

She knew they would turn on her, as soon as the cure couldn’t come from her. She was certain that the virus was only delaying her inevitable transformation. She pressed her forehead to her knees and tried to stop the sobs wracking her body. She appreciated the feeling of Lance’s palm pressed to the small of her back. 

Keith and Lance started chattering about something, and they kept trying to incorporate her into the conversation, but she didn’t want to join. She couldn’t. Matt was dead, and she couldn’t even let him out of the personal hell he was trapped in. Lance had to do it. Eventually, she pushed past it. The others didn’t need to see her any more emotional than they already had. She happily joined in chatting about an old board game they all enjoyed, called Monsters and Mana.

  
Eventually, the truck was pulled to a stop in front of an old bar. Coran said that his cousin used to work there, and he would often visit. According to the ginger man, there were a few rooms upstairs, enough for each of them to have one. Pidge cheered.

The building was miraculously empty, and even though the place had clearly been looted, there was still quite a bit left in terms of alcohol and snack foods. Pidge and Keith had been sent to investigate the basement for anyone (or anything) hiding down there.

“Hey,” Pidge started, a little awkwardly. “Thanks, um, for… you know, not shooting me.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” Keith was a bit stiff with his answer, keeping his weapon raised. “So, you’ve been bitten twice?”

“Yup,” Pidge said, not enthusiastically. “First when I was seventeen, the latest because of Lance’s stupid ass.” She poked her head around a corner. Nothing, just a bunch of empty boxes and shattered bottles. The whole place smelled like stale alcohol, and it reminded her of her neighbor's apartment.

“Can I, uh, can I ask how you got it?” Keith asked, swallowing a lump in his throat. 

“Um, there was this woman, and she was on a horse, surrounded by biters,” she started. Keith turned to her, giving his attention to her story. “... she went down, and so did the horse. I went to help her, and got bit in the process of trying to pull her out of… basically a pile of them.” She lifted the side of her shirt just enough to reveal it, and Keith cringed. He looked away from her and the two continued on. "She and I both got bitten, so I brought her back to my house, and the two of us ate food and decided to just wait it out. Go crazy together. We talked about our brothers, our pets. It was pretty fun. She died on my couch a day later. I'm still waiting for my turn."

"What was her name?" Keith asked cautiously. His expression was sympathetic, something Pidge hadn't seen on Keith before.

"Romelle. She was the sweetest thing," Pidge said, smiling at the memory of the girl.

Light snarls put them on high alert. The two rounded a corner into the men's restroom, and lo and behold, there’s a biter, chowing down on a relatively old body. Keith removed his knife and sliced off its head in one large swing, and Pidge plunged her own into its skull. The two high fived and continued on through the basement, making light chatter. 

Once they were certain there were no more threats in the lower level of the building, they went back up to join the others. With a box full of hard liquor.

“Doesn’t alcohol have an expiration date?” Pidge asked, examining a bottle for the best before date. The contents inside were cloudy, but when she cracked open the bottle of rum, it smelled just as strong as she remembered Mrs. Woodrove’s being.

“Nope,” Lance said casually. He flicked the lid off of a bottle of wine and tilted it back into his mouth. Smacking his lips loudly, he tossed himself backward onto a couch. Pidge gave him an unimpressed look.

“Shouldn’t you be searching the place with Hunk?” she asked. Hunk was nowhere to be found. Then again, nor were Shay, Allura, and Shiro.

“Nah, we already did that, Shiro and Hunk and their respective baby momma’s are scoping out which rooms they want.” He took another swig of wine and held out the bottle for Pidge to take. She shook her head and continued looking through the boxes that she and Keith had brought up. 

“Oh, hey Sylvio,” she called, pulling out a flat of soda. “These might be a bit flat, but you can have one if you want.” He turned up next to her and eyed the can she gave him.

“What is it?” he asked, turning it over in his hands.

“It’s pop?” she crouched down to his level and showed him how to open the can. He smiled at the cracking sound and immediately started chugging it down.

“Careful, pal, you’ll get a stomach ache,” she laughed, pulling the can down. He surprised her, then, when he gave her a hug. Pidge had never been the type to like children, but over the time she had spent with him, she was growing to like Sylvio more and more.

“Pidge, are you giving my nephew booze?” Lance screeched, racing over to take the can from the young boy's hands.

“No, you dipshit, it’s rootbeer,” she said honestly, and very unimpressed. “Lance, how much of that bottle have you had?” She raised an eyebrow, standing up to meet his gaze. It didn’t work, as he was at least a head and a half taller than her.

“More than half,” he admitted, words slurred the tiniest bit.

“Can I have some?” Sylvio asked, grabbing at the bottle of wine in Lance’s hand.

“No,” Pidge said, rather loudly. She handed him a pack of pretzels off the counter instead. Then, a thought popped into her head. “Sylvio, come with me.” She held out her hand for him to take, and he did so happily. She took him over to her backpack and pulled out her old Nintendo DS. She put it and it’s charging cable on the floor and handed him the portable generator. 

“Here, spin this crank until the light turns green,” she explained, placing the device in his hands. He nodded excitedly and cranked the handle as fast as he could. Pidge had to rattle it when it stalled and explained that he had to do it slower. He said that he understood and went to sit next to a rapidly besotted Uncle Lance. She smiled as Sylvio curled into the crook of his arm and Lance hiccupped as he told the young boy a story.

Pidge grabbed the bottle of rum that she had previously opened and took a wary sip. She cringed as the liquid burned her throat on the way down and slammed the bottle back onto the counter, coughing intensely.

“Yeah that’s not really for drinking standalone,” Shiro said as he sat on the barstool next to her. “Try this.” He handed her a bottle with another honey-colored liquid. 

“Brandy?” she asked carefully, readying the label. “Isn’t this what the assholes drank in Titanic?” 

“God, you’re still a kid,” Shiro put his head down and looked at his bottle of what Pidge assumed was beer. It was cloudy, but so was everything else there.

“Shiro!” Keith yelled. “Is that your first beer?”

“Yeah?” Shiro asked skeptically.

“Pour one out for Harambe!”

Pidge, Lance, and Keith all burst into side-splitting laughter. Lance was the loudest, as he was the most intoxicated. Keith handed Pidge a bottle of her own, and she, Keith, and Shiro all dumped them into the sink.

“This is such a waste,” Shiro muttered. Pidge popped open a new one and clinked her bottle against Keith’s. She took a large swig and made a face. It was bitter, and definitely gross, but she could feel the warmth pooling in her stomach and it was nowhere near as painful to drink as the other stuff. 

“Miss Pidge,” Sylvio said loudly. He jumped up from his place on the couch and ran over to her, Skechers lighting up as his feet hit the ground. He waved the small device in his hand a Pidge sent him to get the game system and cord from next to her bag. He did so, and she plugged it in, telling him to wait for the light on her DS to turn on. His shoulders slumped, but he waddled back to the couch with the toy in his hands.

Lance slung his arm around her shoulders and she smiled up at him.

“You’re good with kids,” he said plainly. “Even though you claim to hate them.”

Pidge took another sip of her drink.

“I do,” she refuted. Lance gave a simple, ‘mmhmm,’ and sat down next to her, opposite to Shiro.

“Where’s my man Hunk?” he asked? 

“He offered to take watch, so he’s catching some Z’s before he does,” answered Shiro. 

Eventually, Lance passed out on the couch with Sylvio asleep on his chest. Bae Bae and Kosmo were asleep by the door, being good watchdogs. Shiro and Pidge were left sitting at the bar. Coran was pissed drunk and passed out _under_ the bar, and Keith had gone to bed. Allura and Shay hadn’t had any alcohol, for fear of harming their unborn children. 

“So, you said I remind you of your roommate? Or, your old one, at least,” Pidge questioned. Shiro swirled his bottle around (his fifth of the night), and turned to face her.

“His name was Matt. He was a really dope guy. We got into a lot of shit, but he always came through with something smart to get us out of whatever trouble we were in. Shit, are you okay?”

Pidge hadn’t even realized that she was crying. She sniffled and wiped away at her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine. My brother's name was Matt. I- We- Lance shot him… his corpse, I guess.”

“Goddamn,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. Do you think it was the same Matt?”

“Matt Holt?”

“Yeah…”

  
When Shiro fell asleep, she went upstairs and shook Hunk awake for watch. She was far too intoxicated, even after drinking substantially less than the others. She tiptoed through the room, trying not to wake Shay, while also rousing Hunk. He nodded slightly, and Pidge left the room, finding one that had no one in it. She sipped from a plastic water bottle that Shiro had given her, and laid down. She didn’t think she drank enough to have a hangover in the morning, but she had no experience and wasn’t fully sure.

She collapsed on the bed and was out almost right away.


	10. An eye for an eye, right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeehaw I posted twice in one week? I don't think that's ever been done before.
> 
> Also hella trigger warnings. I'm really sorry.

“Rise and shine, little lady.”

Pidge barely had time to register the fact that she didn’t recognize the voice before she was pulled up from the bed by a handful of her hair. She was tossed to the ground and suddenly wide awake. A tall man loomed over her and she scowled up. She was forced downstairs where everyone else was lined up and on their knees with a man or woman standing behind them, some sort of weapon in their hands. Everyone except…

“Sylvio,” Lance called, as the small boy was pulled from the rest of the group. Sylvio fought against his assailant but was smacked on the jaw, and he stopped fighting. Pidge bared her teeth as a man held her hair, yanking it when she tried to break free.

“Let him go!” she seethed, earning another pull.

“Now darlin’, overpopulation is an issue right now, not enough food to go around.” A man walked in front of her, hands clasped behind his back as if he were an innocent school child. He leaned down close to Pidge’s face and she almost missed the look of rage on Lance’s face.

“So you’re gonna have to choose, the kid or the dog? Who am I shooting today?” he asked.

“Why are you doing this?” Allura asked. The man turned to her.

“Because your dear friend here took the life of our dear Janko.”

Allura looked at her. Pidge barely remembered the night of Nadia’s death.

“It’s simple, an eye for an eye.”

“But why the boy?” Keith protested, earning a hit to the back of the head when he tried to stand.

“So you’d rather it be the dog?”

Pidge choked. Her heart wrenched at the thought of losing Bae Bae, but Sylvio was just a child. “The boy didn’t do anything. It was your man that went against the laws we set!”

“The laws don’t matter when you’re starting the killing.” The man gripped her chin tightly, nails digging into her skin. His white hair fell over his eyes a bit.

"Don't you touch her!" Lance yelled.

“What laws?” Keith asked over him. Lance went largely ignored.

“The laws that cleared up our dear _Katie_, from harm,” he said simply. Pidge’s stomach flipped, he shouldn’t have known her name. Not her real one anyway.

“Which were?” Shiro egged on. He was stalling, which Pidge greatly appreciated.

“We wouldn’t touch her if she left our men alone. She’s got a real killing problem.”

“I kept to myself! I stayed away from you and your men! If Haxus hadn’t come to my property, shot my dog, and threatened my life, we wouldn’t have had to make the deal!” she yelled. “I covered your asses when the time came, gave you _half_ of my supplies, and Janko still didn’t listen!”

“Right, but you’ve still got his blood on your hands. And you stopped providing us with supplies.”

“I left! I wasn’t there to give any to you!”

“And who’s fault was that? So who is it going to be? The boy, or the dog. The dog that belonged to _Mrs. Gladwell_. The only family you have left. Are you going to let her be shot?”

Pidge’s jaw quivered, and she didn’t miss the look Lance was giving her.

“Yes. Shoot the dog.”

“You know, animal cruelty was never something I did before this.” He clicked back the hammer of his handgun. “Why change that?”

A shot rang out and Sylvio stumbled back, before collapsing to the ground, a gaping hole where his eye once was.

“No!” Pidge screamed. She struggled against the hold on the man but he put his forearm over her chest and she wasn’t able to get away.

“You- you monster!” Hunk yelled.

“Oh, and I seem to remember Sendak saying something about you shooting Branko too,” he said. Another shot, and Bae Bae’s unmistakeable whine. She was on the ground, blood staining her fur.

“Fuck you!” Lance screamed. He set off into a bunch of Spanish curse words but was hit on the head with the butt of a rifle to be shut up.

“An eye for an eye, right?” Pidge asked. The white-haired man looked at her with squinted eyes. “What about Bandor?”

“Shut up,” the man behind her hissed. He smacked the back of her head and she keeled forwards. Oh there was going to be a nasty lump. Lance growled.

“No, let her speak.”

“You shot Bandor in cold blood. For sport. Target practice. I say we come to a different agreement. You let us go now, and I’ll think about _not _slitting your throat!”

“Listen bitch, Bandor stole from us!” Pidge was chipping away at his composure, she was sure.

“To help his family! Who I remember you killing the rest of too! He was twelve fucking years old! But I guess you don’t have an issue with killing children,” she sneered. Her ears perked up at the scuffling of Bae Bae, who’s eyes were cloudy and glazed. She pulled her lips into a line to stop from tearing up. She looked over at the rest of the group, shoved to their knees. Shay and Keith had noticed Bae Bae, as they had had their eyes on poor Sylvio’s body.

Pidge hadn’t known that animals, outside of humans could be affected by the virus. Bae Bae’s snarls fell on deaf ears until the last moment that the man previously holding Sylvio could have noticed. She sank her teeth into his calf and the man screamed, catching the attention of everyone else.

Pidge used this opportunity to grab the arm of the person holding her and twist it around his body. He cried out when his elbow snapped and Pidge shoved him to the ground. Using the commotion from the other two, all of the white-haired man’s people shoved her friends to the ground and scattered, closely following him, though not before one more shot could be set off, into Shiro’s right arm. Pidge vaguely noticed the crowbar hitting Coran on the knee. He yelled out in pain as he buckled to the ground.

Once the room was clear of all assailants, Pidge and Lance sprinted to their respective dead.

“Sylvio, nonononono don’t do this to me, buddy. Pidge has to teach you to read, I have to teach you to drive. You have to live! Fuck, fuck fuck!”

Pidge knelt down next to a now dead-undead-and-dead again Bae Bae. Her wrist was grabbed and she was wrenched into a standing position.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us you had an affiliation with them?!” Lance yelled, suddenly turning on her, very close to her face.

“What the hell do you mean?” she asked, honestly puzzled. She stepped forwards into his space, though no intimidation would come from such a small person. 

“You should have told us there were people after you!”

“I fucking did! The first day we met when I told you about my bite, I said that those assholes knew about it and wanted to figure out a cure for themselves. The only problem is they killed my fucking dad trying to get the virus out before him!”

Lance faltered. So Pidge carried on.

“I tried to stay away from you, give you the kids so that nothing would happen, but no, big strong Lance had to save the damsel in distress! Even though all I wanted was a somewhat normal life. I’d hook those guys up with a little bit of food every once in a while and shit was fine.”

“Well maybe you should have left! At least then Sylvio would still be alive,” he seethed. Pidge’s gaze hardened.

“Don’t you dare try to blame this on me! It was your idea to leave the building in the first place!”

“Guys!” Shay yelled over them. Both Pidge and Lance snapped their heads towards her and said “what?”

“They took the truck,” Hunk looked down. Pidge turned to the glass window and sent a fist through it in anger. When she pulled it back, her hand was full of glass shards and covered with blood.

“Fuck,” she hissed. She turned back to Lance, clutching her hand. “I suppose you’re going to blame that on me too?”

Lance looked to the now broken window. He shook his head and ran his hands on his face.

“We can’t go anywhere anyway,” said Keith, holding Coran steady. The poor man’s leg was disfigured and changing colors. Red, blue, purple, white, it was really horrific.

Shiro was leaning against the bar counter, holding his injured arm, while Allura tried to clean it.

“What are we going to do?” Hunk asked, holding his girlfriend’s hand. Pidge looked around. They were in no shape to travel on foot. Two pregnant women and a man that could barely walk. There was no way they were getting to Atlanta anytime soon.

“I’ll go to the CDC,” Pidge said. “I’ll bring back doctors. If I hurry it will take less than a month. I’ll get the cure and bring it to you. Hole up here, go back home, just get somewhere safe.”

“Woah, Woah, Woah, you’re not going on your own,” Lance said, frantically waving his hands in her face.

“Taking everyone isn’t an option,” she said snarkily, putting her hands on her hips.

“And neither is going alone,” he said, leaning down at the waist. Pidge shook her head.

“Well then I’ll go with you,” he said. Pidge screwed up her face in thought. Leaving the women and injured men vulnerable wasn’t a good idea, but they would still have Keith and Hunk to watch over them.

“No, you can’t risk leaving them--” she nodded to the others “--and I’ll be fine.”

“You won’t last a day,” Lance challenged.

“I’ve lasted six years,” she countered.

“So have the rest of us!”

“You had people to hold your hand the whole time! I was on my own! I had to figure it all out! Find out the world was over by myself!”

Lance looked to the side.

“We can bu- we’ll bury Bae Bae and S-Sylvio, and then I’m off.”

No one said anything, and the two lost members of the group were buried in silence.


	11. A risk I'm willing to take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much fluff I blushed while writing it.

They needed to get out. They needed to get out, now.

Who’s genius idea was this, anyway?

“Your’s, dumbass,” Pidge scolded, jabbing her knife into the skull of a biter shambling towards them. Had he said that out loud?

“Well, I was trying to be nice!” he said, knocking another to the side with the butt of his rifle. He grabbed Pidge’s hand and pulled her through the small gap in the neverending hoard of biters. Pidge had admitted to never having stayed in a fancy hotel, so Lance, the gentleman that he was, kept his eyes peeled for any hotel they might be able to crash in for the night. It would have been a nice change of scenery from the shabby old buildings they had been sleeping in for the last week.

They had left their group with scattered protests, mostly from Hunk, and when he was conscious, Shiro. They had been on the road for a short amount of time but were burning through what little supplies they had taken way too fast for both of their likings. Pidge had even refused to eat the previous night, saying that she could spare it for the next day. It was showing on her face how hungry she was.

Lance felt bad for dragging her into the infested building, but in his defense he hadn’t known about the upper floor. They had cleared the bottom floor but didn’t account for the amount of weight on the floor above them. Admittedly, Lance should have been tipped off by the intense creaking from above them, and only noted that they needed to leave when a floorboard landed on Pidge’s shoulder, soon followed by the rest of the ceiling and almost one hundred biters. He assumed someone had trapped them up there.

Lance risked a shot with his handgun to get the infected off of Pidge’s arm before it managed to sink its teeth into her neck. She was immune, but he was sure it would hurt like hell no matter what.

They made it out of the hotel by the skin of their teeth, Pidge breathing heavily, shoulder bleeding, and full of splinters. She leaned her weight on Lance, and he didn’t mind, as it was only a small amount.

“You know, I think I’ll stick to my trend of never visiting large hotels,” she teased, righting herself. She kept a hold on Lance’s hand, however, as the two made their way down the road, Pidge wincing slightly when her backpack shifted uncomfortably on her injured shoulder. Lance made a mental note to help her fix it when they stopped to rest for the night.

“How about here?” Lance asked, pointing his free hand to the gas station they were passing. There were a couple of threats roaming around, but no broken windows. It would be relatively safe. Pidge yawned and shook her head.

“I really don’t want to have to deal with any walkers right now,” she mumbled, releasing Lance’s hand, much to his chagrin, and took the strap off of her shoulder. Lance shook his head and took her hand again. He walked over to the gas station and sat her down on the bench outside of the door. There was a splatter of blood on the one side, so she made sure to stay away from it. She started to protest when he went to the door, but he shushed her with a finger to her lips.

They were warm.

He knocked on the door and pulled the attention of the infected to him. Opening the door, he stepped on heads, stabbed through skulls, and sliced off craniums. He smiled at Pidge and she giggled. It was hard to believe that the two had been so heavily at ends just a week prior. She barely looked at him for the first day of them being separated from the group.

Pidge gave him a thumbs up and tiredly. They had been walking for five days, only a few hours of break in between to catch up on sleep and food. They were now in the heart of New Mexico, and the heat was sapping their energy. Lance was used to it, having spent his entire life in the heat of California, but Pidge didn’t seem like the type to spend her days outside. She stood up and stretched, and Lance scooped her up when she wasn’t expecting it, causing her to shriek in surprise.

“Shh, you’re gonna attract things,” he laughed. Pidge gripped his shoulders tightly, glaring at him behind her cracked and mud-caked glasses. But her lips deceived her when the corners of her mouth quirked up.

“I hate you,” she muttered. Lance just laughed at her and carried her into the building. He placed her on the counter and checked all the back rooms for anything that might jump out at them. Once he was certain it was clear, he made Pidge stay seated while he went to dig through old cabinets and drawers until he found tweezers.

“What exactly are you going to do?” Pidge asked skeptically. She eyed him warily as he pulled a roll of bandage out of his bag. “No, no, no, you’re not going to waste our supplies, I’m f-fine.” She hissed in pain as Lance stopped her from pulling away. He apologized but held tightly to her elbow as he began pulling out large splinters from her shoulder. After taking a closer look, he noticed that the laceration from the plank of wood was deeper than he expected.

Pidge bit her bottom lip when he tugged on a particularly stubborn chunk of wood. It almost refused to come out, and he ended up tearing her skin even further with its removal. He cleared away the blood with his sleeve, barely noticed the look of curiosity Pidge was giving him. He looked up from his current task with his eyes and crooked his mouth up into a soft smile. She flushed and looked away. Lance hadn’t had many girlfriends, but he could recognize infatuation when he saw it.

Lance removed the last sliver and poured a little bit of hydrogen peroxide on her wound. She inhaled sharply while the solution hissed and bubbled on her skin. She gripped Lance’s arm and closed her eyes tightly. Lance cleared away the remaining white foam with a clean part of his sleeve and began wrapping it with the bandage roll.

“Um, thanks, by the way,” Pidge said, stifling another yawn. Lance smiled as he tied off the wrap and ripped it away. “You- you really didn’t have to.”

“I didn’t have to help you the day I first met you, but I did,” he said gently, putting away his small stash of medical supplies. He grabbed a discarded energy bar from the floor of the gas station -- the building really hadn’t been looted too heavily -- and handed it to her.

“I-I’m… I’m a little bit glad you did,” she said quietly. Lance smiled at her, and pulled her in for a gentle hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rubbed his hand up and down her back. He felt his face heating up and he cursed himself for being so juvenile. He felt her smile against his unruly, stained white shirt and smiled himself.

“You know, I’ve been wondering about this,” she said, toying with the dog tags around his neck. “You would have been too young to have been in the military before all of this.” She flipped them around in her hands, and Lance didn’t stop her.

“Marco McClain?”

“My older brother,” he admitted.

“Oh…” she said. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago. I’ve had time to mourn.”

“Still, it’s hard to lose a brother.” She put her forehead back on his shoulder and he just held her there. She still held the dog tags and examined them. “He was catholic?”

“My entire family was. Except for me, I didn’t see the point in hoping some big man in the sky was going to grant my every wish.”

“I’m a woman of science, myself.” Lance chuckled.

“What did you want to be, by the time you finished high school? Before all this, I mean.”

“I had finished high school,” Pidge said sheepishly. “I was enrolled for university the following autumn, but then the pandemic, and I couldn’t go. Fifteen and in college.”

“Holy shit, so you’re like, a super genius?” Lance pulled back for their embrace, eyes wide with intrigue.

“Not a super genius. Not Jimmy Neutron, I just put a lot of effort to get it over with quickly. I wanted to be the youngest person in space.”

“I’m sure you would have been amazing,” Lance said, voice barely above a whisper. Pidge looked to the side, a smile on her face. Lance was proud to be the one to have produced her smile.

“Come on, we’ve rested up, I think we should get back on the road.” She slid off of the counter and grabbed her discarded backpack.

“It’s almost dark out, Pidge, we should just stay here for the night. The place hasn’t been looted much, we can even find something to eat.” He looked at her with a pout. “_Please_?”

Pidge looked between him and the door and the setting sun. Her shoulders slumped.

“Fine. But only because you’re being such a baby.” She put her bag back on the ground next to Lance’s and flopped onto the counter on her stomach.

Lance looked away from her and covered his mouth with a hand to hide a grin. He went into the back storage room to look for any supplies they could use. He came across a boxed blow-up mattress and silently cheered. No blankets, but this was a step up from the usual concrete and dirt they typically slept on. He could only think about the smile on Pidge’s face when he presented it to her.

“Lance!” she shrieked. He dropped the box and ran from the storage room, on high alert.

“Pidge, is everything okay?” he asked knife at the ready.

“What? No, put that down.” He sheathed his knife, raising his eyebrows. Pidge stepped very close to him, hands clasped behind her back, a devious smile on her face. Lance was scared. Suddenly, a small box was shoved in his face.

“I found batteries!”

Lance chuckled and put his hands on her shoulders. “You’re a child.”

“You’re no better. You started crying when we found a living cat.”

“It was _alive_! Can’t say that about many things anymore.” Lance crossed his arms. “Oh, come with me.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the back room.

“This is where you murder me, isn’t it?”

“With excitement!” He picked up the inflatable mat and held it out to her. Her jaw dropped. She took the box and turned it over in her hands.

“‘_Fits in a ten-man tent, holds four.’_ HOLDS FOUR?” She looked up at him excitedly. “We can both fit, with room to spare, Lance, we'll be comfortable for once!” She put the box on the ground and tossed her arms around his neck. Lance hugged her back for a second.

“Let’s go blow it up!”

Lance had heard those words before but never spoken with this context, and he eagerly followed the small woman from the room.

* * *

“Okay, favourite colour on three, one, two, three!”

“Blue,” Lance said as Pidge said ‘green.’ The two laughed. Staring up at the ceiling, the two had been naming things about themselves for an hour, after Pidge calmed her lungs from blowing up the mattress. Lance wondered why she refused to let him help her, but shrugged it off to her wanting to be independent.

Lance rolled over and tucked his hands under his cheek, looking at Pidge. Pidge did the same and gave him a small smile.

“Do you think someone can put the world back to normal?” she asked.

“I know who can,” he agreed, nodding. Pidge cocked an eyebrow.

“Who?”

“I’m looking at her.”

Pidge smiled. Lance brought a hand up to her face, rubbing a thumb across her cheekbone.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered. Pidge lost her smile and Lance’s stomach flipped. Had he overstepped?

“Lance, you know how the infection is spread, right?” she asked.

“Bites?”

“Liquid on liquid, saliva on blood, blood on blood and saliva on saliva,” she explained. “And I have the virus in my body. I- I want to, but… it’s a risk.”

“A risk I’m willing to take,” Lance responded. He leaned in a bit closer, and so did Pidge, and their lips brushed. Pidge was hesitant, but leaned forwards a bit more, pressing her mouth to his a bit harder, and Lance smiled against her warm skin.


End file.
